The league-leading Racal Tile Masters kept its immaculate record with an 84-80 victory over the Tanduay Rhum Masters, Tuesday afternoon at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The trio of Rey Nambatac, Allan Mangahas, and Kent Salado came off the bench and provided the spark for the Tile Masters, as they fired 16 of the team’s 23 fourth quarter points to snag the W.
Nambatac paced his side with 16 points and six rebounds, Mangahas chimed in 16 markers and six boards, and Salado poured 15 points and two rebounds as Racal kept its record unblemished at 5-0.
“We weren’t able to stop [Paul] Sanga, but I told them to play our game and trust their teammates. Don’t panic,” said coach Jerry Codinera.
Behind Sanga, Tanduay took a six-point lead early in the fourth, 71-65, before the Racal trio teamed up to fire a 17-6 run and turn it to an 82-78 lead, thanks to a pair of Jamil Gabawan free throws with 1:20 left.
The Rhum Masters had chances to get closer, but Sanga, Mark Cruz, and Raphy Reyes missed their chances late before Salado sealed the deal as he canned his freebies in the final 13.7 ticks.
Sanga went on a 7-of-19 clip from threes to finish with 25 points and three rebounds for Tanduay (3-2).
Both teams knocked down eight triples in the game but Racal was the aggressor, shooting 14-of-26 from the charity stripe compared to just 8-of-15 for Tanduay.
Bong Quinto also had 21 markers, two boards, and two assists as the Tile Masters cut the Rhum Masters’ three-game winning streak short.
Racal will look to keep their perfect slate intact as they take on JRU on February 27, Monday, 5:00 PM at the JCSGO Gym. Tanduay, meanwhile, will look to bounce back next Thursday, February 23, against Cignal at the Ynares Arena at 5:00 PM.
The Scores:
Racal (84) – Mangahas 16, Nambatac 16, Salado 15, Onwubere 13, Gabawan 6, Corpuz 5, Flores 5, Gumaru 3, Gabayni 2, Terso 2, Apreku 1, Cabrera 0, Dagangon 0, Torres 0.
Tanduay (80) – Sanga 25, Quinto 21, Sollano 12, Cruz 7, Santos 6, Palma 5, Cenal 2, Reyes 2, Eguilos 0, Ibay 0, Varilla 0.
Quarterscores: 21-25, 41-36, 61-64, 84-80.
