CANDON CITY, Ilocos Sur — The Rookies & Sophomores leaned on a strong second half to beat the Juniors, 154-150, in the Blitz Game of the PBA Season 50 All-Star festivities at the Candon City Arena here, Friday night.
The charges of Coach Dayong Mendoza actually trailed by a point entering the halftime intermission, but found their groove in the third quarter and went on to maintain control in the final period to eventually complete the fightback.
Jerom Lastimosa hit big threes early in the fourth before the high-flying Kai Ballungay helped apply the final blows, enabling them to top their more seasoned counterparts–and take home P200,000 of cash prize in total.
P100,000 came from the PBA Commissioner’s Office, while the other half was courtesy of Candon City Mayor Eric Singson, as he pledged Thursday.
Lastimosa, for his part, won himself an additional P50,900 as he was adjudged as the Blitz Game Most Valuable Player.
The Scores:
Rookies & Sophomores 154 – Lastimosa 27, Ramirez 26, Ballungay 20, Panopio 17, Barefield 14, Santos 14, Torres 9, Estil 8, Bravo 8, Miller C. 4, Miller W. 4, Malonzo 3, Lemetti 0.
Juniors 150 – Rivero 30, Winston 29, Tuffin 23, Garcia 15, Caralipio 9, Aurin 8, Cu 7, Bates 7, Pingris 6, Flores 5, Galinato 4, Fajardo 4, Yu 3, De Ocampo 0.
Quarterscores: 32-35, 63-64, 112-105, 154-150.
#WATCH: THE RISING STAR 🌟
Jerom Lastimosa is glad to have been able to team up with his opponents in #PBA50, hoping that they were able to entertain the fans during the game#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/s9yOgeSLLt
📹 Justine Bacnis/Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/pEWJ1EYHsQ
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) March 6, 2026
