Mortapaint, Mortashield arrange title showdown in CABC hoops

Sports

MORTAPAINT and Mortashield pocketed pressure-packed wins in separate knockout semifinal matches to set up a championship duel in the Cebu Architects Basketball Club (CABC) Mortabond Cup 2026 over the weekend at the Magnum Sports Arena.

Mortapaint bucked a depleted lineup to nose out Mortaseal Flexi, 89-86, while Mortashield escaped with its own close win by edging Duraplas Lite, 88-83.

Gerald Lentorio fired 32 points to lead Mortapaint, putting in an explosive offensive performance that he laced with five rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

Mortapaint showed up with just eight players but had no problem getting enough offensive production with John Therese Buhawe and Joseph Layar backing Lentorio with a combined 45 points.

Buwahe finished with 25 points, 21 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block while Layar threw in 20 markers.

Leading Mortaseal Flexi were Jay Devenadera and Justin Aspacio, who each scattered 27 points.

On the other hand, Mortashield leaned on a balanced attack to clinch its own championship ticket with Kurt Damandaman firing 19 points

Also scoring in double figures for Mortashield were Jonas Lastimosa and Miggy Aparri, who recorded 18 and 10 markers, respectively.

Jonas Panerio scored 19 points to lead Duraplas Lite, who also got 14, 13, and 10 markers from Zach Elisha Go, Ian Ed Lapina, and Manuel Niere, respectively.

The championship match and the battle-for-third duel will be played on Sunday, March 29, at a yet to be announced venue.(CCM)