Pasig-Sta. Lucia vented its ire on Imus-Buracai de Laiya, 100-80, to salvage bronze in the Chooks-to-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Invitational battle for third, Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Realtors were coming off a tough 72-77 loss against Basilan-Jumbo Plastic Medical Depot yesterday. And the team used that heartbreaking loss to fuel their rally against Imus-Buracai de Laiya.
“After ng game siyempre masama yung loob namin, gusto rin naming pumasok ng finals,” said Pasig head coach Bong Dela Cruz. “Ang nangyari, sa [group chat] namin nag usap naman, inistart ni cap [Jeric Teng] na bounce back kami today so nag follow na lang yung ibang players.”
After a seesaw affair in the opener, the Realtors stepped on the gas pedal in the following frames. Their biggest lead came in the fourth frame, with Allen Mina draining a trey to put his side up by 31, 94-63, in the 5:51-mark.
Jeckster Apinan led the 20-point beating with 16 points and nine rebounds while Jeric Teng played his best game in the MPBL Invitational with 14 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
Ryan Costelo and Jerald Bautista added 12 apiece while Mythical Five member Fran Yu, who just played 13 minutes and five seconds, was limited to three points and four assists.
Pasig-Sta. Lucia also banked P200,000 as the third placer.
“We’re just all thankful na nakabalik na ulit yung basketball, natuloy na ulit yung Chooks-to-Go MPBL dahil yun nga very e excited kami kasi maganda yung last season namin,” said Pasig skipper Jeric Teng.
“We had small expectations from everyone but I think we exceeded it. So we were looking forward na makabalik ulit sa MPBL,” he added.
On the other hand, Genmar Bragais paced Imus-Buracai de Laiya with 23 points to go along with six rebounds, and two assists.
Kurt Reyson chipped in 14 points including four triples while Jhaymo Eguilos had 10 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Adi Santos missed the contest after suffering a sprained ankle yesterday in their 82-76 loss to Nueva Ecija.
The Scores:
Pasig-Sta. Lucia 100 – Apinan 16, Teng 14, Bautista 12, Costelo 12, Lingganay 9, Arana 8, Caralipio 8, Mina 6, Ablaza 6, Chan 6, Yu 3, Pena 0.
Imus-Buracai de Laiya 80 – Bragais 23, Reyson 14, Melencio 10, Eguilos 10, Tan 6, Llagas 6, Mangalino 6, Medalla 3, Mescalado 2, Go 0, Fuentes 0.
Quarterscores: 23-19, 53-41, 77-56, 100-80.
