Mandaue defied the odds and won the championship of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup Visayas leg.
Mandaue clinched the best-of-three series on Sunday night after pipping Talisay, 89-75, at the Alcantara Civic Center in Cebu.
Down by as much as nine points in the second quarter, Mandaue came alive midway through the third quarter, going on an 18-1 run that put the team ahead for good, 54-44.
The blowout was sealed in the fourth quarter after the team converted crucial triples to open a lead as high as 22 points, 88-66, with 1:41 left.
Ping Exciminiano led Mandaue, which won P500,000 from league sponsor Chooks-to-Go, with 15 points, five rebounds, one assist, and three steals.
He was eventually named the Most Valuable Player of the series.
Michole Sorela and Alfrancis Tamsi each added 12 points off the bench.
Mandaue will await the winner of the Mindanao leg, tentatively starting on May 25, in the grand finals of the VisMin Super Cup’s first conference.
Patrick Cabahug put up 21 points on 4-of-8 three-point shooting, three rebounds, and one block to pace Talisay, which was deprived of the title despite going 10-0 in the classification phase to earn the first outright seat in the championship series.
The team would still get PHP100,000 from Chooks-to-Go as the runner-up prize.
Jaymar Gimpayan, the regular season MVP, added 12 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and one block.*PNA
