MANILA, Philippines— HSBC stunned Expert Global Solutions, 75-65, dealing the defending champions their first defeat in the competitive division of BPO Classics Basketball tournament last May 4 at the Reyes Gym.
EGS, still one of the forces to reckon with in this year’s tournament for BPO companies, met its match in the newcomer HSBC.
With equal offensive prowess, HSBC leaned on its rebounding, 50-43, to get ahead of EGS with two players pulling down at least 10 rebounds.
Ronald Bernardo had eight points and 13 rebounds, Joseph Villanueva added seven markers and 10 boards.
Chris Richard Baylon on the other hand sizzled with 19 points, and Paolo Jay Yasay and Raymond Leyva combined for 27 to power HSBC to a 3-1 record and a tie with EGS at first place so far.
Meanwhile, Infinit-O stayed unscathed after three games after beating Sykes Asia, 94-86, in the other match of the competitive division last May 3 at the Makati Coliseum.
Cyrus Malagueno punished all his defenders and punched in season-best 35 points for Infinit-O, while drawing solid back-up from four other guys who finished in double-digit scoring.
In the intermediate division of the tournament organized by One Unite Sports, EXL Service Philippines, Inc., Xerox, and US Autoparts all racked up double-digit victories to stay in the top three also last May 4.
Raniel Belen and Francis Barrameda combined for 36 points to power EXL to a 69-57 win over erstwhile undefeated Microsourcing EV while Edmar Canlas churned out 17 points to lead Xerox past C3, 73-63.
US Autoparts, meanwhile, needed only five players to turn back winless Stefanini, 86-63. Mc Gagan had 34 points, Romeo Cruz added 20, Christian Marquez and Rolon Ramos scored 13 each, while Rafael Revina capped it with six.
The lone recreational division game that weekend saw Cash Flow Outsourcing Services (CFOS) bagged its first win after three tries as it clobbered Telstra, 67-47.
