PAGADIAN, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR — Basilan BRT maintained its spotless Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup Mindanao Challenge campaign after dismantling host team Pagadian, 82-76, late Thursday evening at the Pagadian City Gymnasium here.
Tied at the half, Basilan erupted for a 20-5 run, topped by Ar Raouf Julkipli’s layup, to start the third period. They established a 15-point spread, 61-46, with 4:20 left.
But the Explorers were able to cut the deficit to a single digit at the end of the frame, 54-63.
Darwin Lunor waxed hot in the fourth period, making three straight buckets to build a 13-point lead, 69-56. Then Pagadian answered with their six straight points, 62-69.
From there, it was all Basilan. They went on an 11-4 burst to put the game away, 80-66, with 1:14 to go en route to a 3-0 win-loss slate.
In a span of 54 seconds, the Explorers sank 10 straight points, capped by Niño Ibañez’s trey with 20.7 ticks left, 76-80. Then Dennis Daa iced the game with conversions from the charity stripe.
“Problema talaga namin noong first half hindi namin ma-break ‘yung press defense nila,” said Basilan head coach Ron Jalmanzar. “Gumawa kami ng way noong halftime ayun gumana naman.”
Dennis Daa led the victors with 18 points and six rebounds. Nikko Panganiban and Junjie Hallare chalked up 15 points apiece.
JC Luciano added nine points and seven rebounds, while Med Salim had eight points and eight rebounds.
Jorem Morada yesterday earned the Chooks-to-Go Manok ng Bayan player of the game award. But he hit the showers early after incurring consecutive technical fouls at the 2:48 mark of the first period.
Judel Fuentes paced the Explorers anew with 23 points but went 6-of-18 from the field, good for just 33.3 percent.
Ibanez stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, five rebounds, four steals, and two assists as they fell to 2-2.
Pagadian will try to avenge its loss when it clashes with MisOr tomorrow, 6:30 PM. Meanwhile, the Peace Riders seek to protect their spotless record on Saturday against Kapatagan at 4:00 PM.
The Scores:
Basilan 82 – Daa 18, Panganiban 15, Hallare 15, Luciano 9, Salim 8, Lunor 6, Goloran 4, Solis 2, De Joya 2, Soliva 1, Ferrer 0, Saliddin 0, Morada 0.
Pagadian 76 – Fuentes 23, Ibanez 13, Uri 13, Mag-isa 10, Diaz 6, Caballero 4, Baldeo 3, Acaylar 2, Quimado 2, Saludsod 0, Tolentino 0, Demapiles 0, Demigaya 0, Pamaran 0.
Quarterscores: 22-24, 41-41, 63-54, 82-76.
