1Bataan-Camaya coast carved out a thin 81-78 victory over the pesky Navotas-Unipak Sardines in the 2019-20 Chooks-to-Go/MPBL Lakan Cup on Friday at the Valenzuela Astrodome.
Navotas’ Mark Guillen went for a split in the charity stripe before Renz Gonzales snuck in a layup to slice Bataan’s lead to just three points, 75-78, with 22.3 ticks remaining.
James Castro and Alfred Batino then drained three consecutive freebies to put Bataan back up by five markers.
Not wanting to go down without a fight, Osama Abdurasad drilled a three-pointer with 11.7 seconds left to pull Navotas to as close as two points, 78-80.
Gino Jumao-as iced the game with two more free throws off a foul from Abdurasad. Allan Evangelista launched one last trey for Navotas but missed.
“Yung mental toughness ng players ko, yun yung pini-preach ko sa kanila kasi kalalaro nga lang the other day, sabi ko this will be a good test,” said Bataan head coach Jonas Villanueva.
Bogs Llanto stepped-up big time for the Risers — who are coming off a 76-72 victory over Bicol last Wednesday — with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting laced with seven boards.
Byron Villarias chipped in 16 points and six boards while Castro had 14 markers for Bataan, who now has a 17-10 card for the sixth spot in the Northern Division.
Meanwhile, Jhong Bondoc paced the Unipak Sardines-powered squad with 17 points and nine boards.
Guillen followed suit, providing a double-double performance of 16 points and 11 boards. Abdurasad had 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field.
With the loss, Navotas fell to a 7-20 slate also in the Northern Division.
The Scores:
1Bataan-Camaya Coast (81) — Llanto 18, Villarias 16, Castro 14, Batino 9, Jumao-as 7, Juntilla 7, Nalos 4, Iñigo 3, Gozum 2, Bregondo 1, Jaime 0, Ortega 0, Gallardo 0, Cudal 0
Navotas-Unipak Sardines (78) — Bondoc 17, Guillen 16, Abdurasad 14, Melegrito 9, Taywan 7, Gonzales 6, Prudente 4, Cabahug 3, Matillano 2, Andaya 0, Evangelista 0, Soriano 0, Bautista 0, Mamaclay 0,
Quarterscores: 17-24, 39-40, 60-56, 81-78
Story by Jonash Dannug
Photo by Nicks Hernandez
