DAVAO CITY — A defensive masterpiece.
South leader Davao Occidental-Cocolife put the clamps on Zamboanga Family’s Brand Sardines, 47-28, to draw first blood in the 2020 Chooks-to-Go MPBL Lakan best-of-three semifinals at the RMC Petrogazz Arena here, Monday.
The Tigers limited Zamboanga to single digits in the first, second, and fourth quarters with five, six, and five, respectively.
Up by just eight in the fourth period with 8:17 left, 35-27, Davao held its foes to just a point in the remainder of the game while scoring 12 to settle the final score.
“I have never seen anything like this as a coach, or even as a player, so I got to give it to my coaching staff. They did a good job scouting, and of course to the players,” said Tigers head coach Don Dulay.
The game was full of records.
The two teams made history with the least combined points in a game at just 75, surpassing the 92 points of Marikina and Cebu in Datu Cup.
The Family’s Brand Sardines also recorded the least points in a game by a team with 28, 14 less than the 42 of Marikina. Together with Davao, they built a new record for the least points combined in a half with just 30, 19-11.
Emman Calo was the lone scorer in double-figures with 12 points on top of seven rebounds and two steals.
Billy Ray Robles had eight markers, six boards, and three assists, while Ken Mocon added seven.
On the other hand, Leonard Santillan paced Zamboanga with eight points on 2-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds.
Poor was Zamboanga’s shooting clip, converting only eight shots in 60 attempts, good for just 13.3 percent.
Davao looks to advance to the South Division finals on Friday, March 6, at the Strike Gym in Bacoor, Cavite.
The Scores:
Davao Occidental-Cocolife 47 – Calo 12, Robles 8, Mocon 7, Balagtas 5, Terso 5, Albo 3, Custodio 2, Raymundo 2, Gaco 2, Saldua 1, Dumagan 0, Adormeo 0.
Zamboanga-Family’s Brand Sardines 28 – Santillan 8, De Vera 5, Pasaol 4, Roño 4, Asistio 3, Ignacio 2, Arboleda 2, Thiele 0, Black 0, Morido 0, Argamino 0, Villamor 0, Reyes 0, Bonsubre 0.
Quarterscores: 11-5, 19-11, 35-23, 47-28.
Story by Justin Valencia
Photos by Thel Suliva
