BALANGA, BATAAN — Cebu-Casino Ethyl Alcohol kept its playoff chances alive, coming out with a 79-70 victory against the also-ran Parañaque-Yabo Sports in the 2019-20 Chooks-to-Go/MPBL Lakan Season on Wednesday at the Bataan People’s Center here.
Trailing by eight points in the final frame, the troika of Dale Begaso, Rommel Mangalino and Rene Boy Banzali conspired in a 7-0 blast to cut Cebu’s lead to two points, 70-72, with 5:07 still on the clock.
But that’s the closest the Patriots could get, as AJ Coronel sparked a 7-0 fight back for Cebu to end the game.
Playing without Kraniel Villoria, Rhaffy Octobre, and Zachy Huang, Cebu guard Bongbong Nuñez was the latest to step up from the Sharks’ roster.
Nuñez dropped 20 points on an 8-of-17 shooting clip, while also collecting 10 rebounds, five assists, and two steals to push Cebu to a 15-14 slate in the South Division.
In order for Cebu to enter the playoffs, it has to win its last game against Batangas-Tanduay and hope that General Santos-Burlington will drop its last two games.
“Sobrang halaga kasi may game pa yung Gen San e. So sana, sana matalo yung Gen San twice,” said Cebu head coach Noy Falcasantos
Jayboy Solis and Dale Begaso both had 12 points apiece for Parañaque with the former grabbing seven rebounds while the latter had six.
The Patriots dropped to an 8-21 win-loss slate in the South Division.
The Scores:
Cebu-Casino Ethyl Alcohol (79) — Nuñez 20, McAloney 19, Lao 11, Mantilla 9, Lee Yu 9, Galvez 4, Saycon 3, Coronel 3, Cortes 0, Ubalde 0
Parañaque-Yabo Sports (70) — Begaso 12, Solis 12, Sunga 11, Vizcarra 7, Saguiguit 6, Abugan 4, Banzali 4, Menguez 3, Antonares 3, Mangalino 2, Lucente 2, Rabe 0
Quarterscores: 18-21, 35-36, 65-54, 79-70
Story by Jonash Dannug
Photo by Thel Suliva
