PAGADIAN, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR — Petra Cement-Roxas used a late closing rally to upend ALZA Alayon, 79-72, for its third-straight win in the 2021 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, Friday at the Pagadian City Gymnasium.
Trailing by two midway through the fourth frame, the Vanguards unloaded 11 unanswered points, capped by Jhong Bondoc’s layup, to turn a 66-68 deficit to a 77-68 margin at the 1:25 mark.
Zamboanga del Sur’s JC Jabello then made back-to-back layups to chop Roxas’ lead to just five, 72-77, with 31 ticks left.
But it was a case of too little, too late as James Castro was able to hit two insurance free throws to ice the win.
“Sinabihan ko sila na crucial part na ito ng game. Dapat mas gusto nating manalo kesa sa kalaban. Kailangan natin dumepensa nang maayos,” Explorers head coach Eddie Laure said on their 11-0 closing blast.
Bondoc was a history-maker for Roxas, tallying a VisMin record of 23 rebounds, to go with 15 points, four assists, and two steals.
“Bigyan mo o hindi ng bola si Jhong, talagang hahanap at hahanap ng rebound si Jhong. Sobrang sipag niyang bata na yan,” Laure on Bondoc’s VisMin record.
The former rebounding record was held by Tabogon’s Arvie Bringas with 21 during the Visayas Leg.
Also having a double-double was James Castro with 22 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds. Lester Reyes also pumped in 12 points, six in the payoff period.
After losing their first two games, the Vanguards rolled to their third-straight victory, now at 3-2, still at fifth place but just 0.5 games behind JPS.
“Nakukuha na namin ‘yung tamang combination ng mga players tapos uhaw na uhaw pa sa panalo ‘yung mga players ko,” Laure on the team’s winning streak
Dennis Daa remained the rock for ALZA Alayon with 16 points and 15 rebounds while Eloy Poligrates had 15 points, five rebounds, and four steals.
Dan Sara was the missing link with just five points on 1-of-10 shooting from the field. He dished out nine assists.
Zamboanga del Sur dropped to 2-4 for the seventh spot.
Roxas will resume play tomorrow when they face MisOr at 4 pm. ALZA Alayon will take on league-leading Clarin on Sunday, 4 pm.
The Scores:
Roxas 79 – Castro 22, Bondoc 15, Reyes 12, Casino 9, Najorda 8, Camacho 5, Sta. Ana 4, Elmejrab 4, Velasco 0, Intic 0, Rifarial 0, Templo 0, Pasia 0, Deles 0.
Zamboanga del Sur 72 – Daa 16, Poligrates 15, Pepito 9, Celada 7, Jabello 6, Sara 5, Bangcoyan 4, Moneva 4, Puerto 3, Raflores 3, Tajonera 0.
Quarterscores: 20-14, 35-32, 54-55, 79-72.
