ANGELES, PAMPANGA — Bicol-LCC Stores did leave anything to chance, weathering a late-rally by General Santos-Burlington, 65-63, to secure a playoff spot in the 2019-20 Chooks-to-Go/Lakan Season, Saturday at the Angeles University Foundation Gymnasium here.
Down by 16 big points in the fourth quarter, Pamboy Raymundo pumped in 14 points in a surging 18-4 rally to trim Bicol’s lead to just two points, 63-65, with 1:22 left in the game.
After two missed opportunities from Alwyn Alday and Jerome Garcia, GenSan’s Robby Celiz and Jeramer Cabanag both had chances to tie and win the game but badly missed.
“Actually, ang tendency palagi ng team na nalalamangan is magiging aggresive sila. Ang suwerte ko lang is mayroon talaga akong Ronjay Buenafe,” said Bicol head coach Mon Kallos.
Alday paced Bicol with 13 points on 16-of-19 shooting. Chris Lalata had 11 points and five rebounds, while Jonathan Aldave added 10 points, four rebounds, and three steals.
Despite scoring only five points on a disappointing 1-of-6 shooting from the field, Ronjay Buenafe collected five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocked shots.
The Volcanoes ended the elimination round campaign with a 16-14 record, currently placed eighth in the South Division.
But due to their head-to-head wins against playoff hopefuls Cebu and Batangas, the LCC Stores-backed squad have claimed the second to the last post-season slot in the South.
Raymundo tallied 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals for GenSan, who now slipped to the fifth spot also in the same division with a 16-11 record.
The Scores:
Bicol-LCC Stores (65) — Alday 13, Lalata 11, Aldave 10, Guerrero 9, Garcia 9, Buenafe 5, Mondragon 4, Alfonso 2, Ontengco 1, Gusi 1, Lao 0
General Santos-Burlington (63) — Raymundo 18, Mahaling 8, Celiz 8, Bautista 7, Basco 6, Masaglang 5, Goloran 5, Orbeta 2, Carlos 0, Baltazar 0, Grospe 0, Cinco 0, Landicho 0
Quarterscores: 14-11, 31-21, 52-40, 65-63
Story by Jonash Dannug
Photo by Thel Suliva
