Bulacan picked up its third straight victory after escaping Batangas-Tanduay’s late barrage, 82-81, Wednesday in the 2019-20 Chooks-to-Go MPBL Lakan Season at the Olivarez College Gym in Paranaque City.
Down by just one, 81-82 with 7.5 ticks left, Genmar Bragais drove to the basket and got fouled, however, he flunked both of his freebies that could have put the Athletics ahead.
In the ensuing play, Kuya’s Stephen Siruma went to the stripe, but missed both of his shots and with one final shot to win the game for Batangas, Dan Sara penetrated to the basket but his layup rimmed out as time expired.
With Bulacan up 79-67 with 2:25 left in the game, the Tanduay-backed squad went on a 12-1 blast, to move within one, 80-79 with 58 seconds left.
“It was a good start pero bad finish kami eh. Nanalo kami pero alam mo yung feeling na on the edge, na dapat hindi nangyari yun. Yung down the line execution, dapat maging better yon,” said Bulacan coach Kerwin Mccoy.
Dennis Santos led the Kuyas with 15 points, six boards, and four dimes while JR Alabanza contributed 13 markers, including five freebies.
Rev Diputado added 12 points, spiked by three triples, for Bulacan, who moved to 15-8, solidified their hold of the fourth seed in the North.
Up by just a solitary point, 27-26, the Kuyas unloaded a 20-5 bomb, highlighted by three triples, two by Diputado and one by JR Alabanza, to pull away at halftime, 47-31.
Jason Melano’s 23 points and eight rebounds went for naught as the Tanduay-backed Athletics slid to 13-9, still at sixth in the South division.
The Scores:
Bulacan 82 – Santos 15, Alabanza 13, Diputado 12, Dela Cruz 9, Arim 8, Escosio 6, Alvarez 6, Nermal 5, Capacio 4, Taganas 2, Siruma 2, Antipuesto 0.
Batangas-Tanduay 81 – Melano 23, Viernes 14, Grimaldo 13, Bragais 11, Eguilos 8, Sara 7, Koga 3, Basibas 2, Suerte 0, Rogado 0, Santos 0, Olivares 0.
Quarterscores: 19-17, 47-31, 64-50, 82-81.
Story by Justin Valencia
Photo by Angela Davocol
