BASILAN — Second seed Bacoor City carved its way to the 2020 Chooks-to-Go/MPBL South semifinals after a 69-60 triumph over seventh-ranked General Santos-Burlington, Monday at the Lamitan Gymnasium here.
Up by just five points in the final frame, Bacoor’s Nick Demusis converted a three-pointer to ignite a 10-4 offensive attack. That then gave his squad an 11-point cushion, 69-58, with 2:03 left in the game.
Mikey Williams still brought it back to single digits for General Santos after a perfect trip to the line, 50-68. It wasn’t enough for the Warriors to salvage the game, though.
“‘Yung start namin offensively… Medyo hindi namin nagustuhan ‘yung nangyayari eh, so we have to pick it up. Tapos nung second half, tinaasan lang namin ‘yung energy. We’re not the most talented team in the league pero ‘yung effort namin, that counts twice eh,” said Oping Sumalinog.
Sumalinog spearheaded the attack for Bacoor with 16 points founded on three triples on top of three rebounds and four blocks.
Nick Demusis added 11 points and four boards off the bench. Meanwhile, Gab Banal had nine points, seven assists, three rebounds, two steals, along with four turnovers.
On the other hand, Celiz top-scored General Santos with 22 points laced with five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Pamboy Raymundo and Williams were held to just nine and eight points, respectively.
Bacoor will face the winner of the Basilan-Iloilo quarterfinals match-up in the South semis.
The Scores:
Bacoor City (69) — Sumalinog 16, Demusis 11, Banal 9, Mabulac 8, Canete 7, Melencio 7, Montuano 6, Pangilinan 5, Ramirez 0, Acuna 0, Aquino 0, Ochea 0, Destacamento 0.
General Santos-Burlington (60) — Celiz 22, Goloran 10, Raymundo 9, Williams 8, Cabanag 4, Orbeta 2, Grospe 2, Mahaling 2, Masaglang 1, Basco 0, Bautista 0, Baltazar 0.
Quarterscores: 17-16, 33-33, 57-52, 69-60.
Story by Jonash Dannug
Photos by Thel Suliva
