South Elite, Triple 8 and Kidzshot shone in the opening triple-header of the Next5Hoops Metro Manila 2nd South Leg Qualifier Intermediate Division last January 7.
Triple 8 kicked off the tournament organized by One Unite Sports with a 102-93 drubbing of Dominguez Constructions at the EJG Lucky Gym.
Leaning on the hot hands of its players, Triple 8 took control of the game from the get go, holding a double-digit advantage for most of the game.
It even led by as much as 22 with under four minutes to play, though Dominguez Construction managed to pull closer by the game ended.
Jerry Lumongsod, Aaron Nacorda and Michael Bernal knocked down four triples apiece to torch the opponents, finishing with 18, 17 and 14 points, respectively.
It wasn’t for the lack of trying for Dominguez Constructions, who had four players in double-digit points.
Kidzshot, meanwhile, banked on its sheer rebounding edge to defeat Capital One, 68-54.
With a whopping 70-52 lead in rebounds, Kidzshot was able to maintain a safe lead from Capital One in the fourth quarter.
From a deadlock at 26 to start the third quarter, Kidshot went on a 9-1 run to break away and lead by as much as 16 points late in the game.
Shintaro Dela Cruz topscored with 13 points with Carlo Barroso, Lance Avendano and Danzel Fernandez chipped in nine markers each.
South Elite was deadly from the inside and out and demolished Chateau Elysee, 83-59.
South Elite erected a double-digit lead as early as six minutes into the opening period and never looked back, pushing it to as high as 27 several times in the second half.
With its outside shooting clicking with seven triples and the paint well covered, South Elite’s 30 turnovers hardly mattered.
Elo Cantos notched a double-double for South Elite with 21 points and 14 rebounds with Joseph Lazaro contributed 15 points and eight rebounds. Jobert Castro got all of his nine points from beyond the arc.
Miguel Tubig and Ryan Hayes, who had 13 and 10 markers, in that order, tried their best to keep Chateau Elysee in the game to no avail.
