Pulpogan takes opener in Seniors A finals

JC Escalona and Russell Moneva transformed themselves into a deadly one-two punch as Pulpogan knocked down Poblacion Oriental, 8986, to step a win away from clinching the InterBarangay Seniors Category A title of the 7th Mayor Teresa 'Nene' P. Alegado Fiesta Basketball Cup the other night at the Consolacion covered court.

Escalona, once a vital cog of the University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers, sparkled with 22 points, while Moneva, who bagged the MVP award in the 2017 Mayor Eddie Gullas Cup where his team Aspa Scaffolding won the championship in the open/commercial division just three nights ago, finished with 20 markers.

Russell's twin brother Rexon Moneva chipped in 14 points and their combined efforts were enough to shut down the 32-point explosion of Poblacion Oriental's Lymuel Malagar.

Pulpogan was in complete control after cruising to a 49-40 lead at halftime. They then parried repeated comeback attempts by Poblacion Oriental to pull off a close but exhilarating three-point victory.

Retchie Cesa had 16 points, while Larry Malagar and Jerome Valle connived for 27 points for Poblacion Oriental, which will try to forge a rubbermatch when they battle Pulpogan in Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Earlier, Joseph Cabahug unloaded 24 points, while Jacob Baguio and Junard Pales had 28 points in between them as Lamac subdued Nangka, 8275, to settle for third place in the IB Seniors A. Lamac never looked back after taking a 6151 advantage going into the final 10 minutes of play.