CANDON CITY, Ilocos Sur — Team 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 trailed by a point entering the halftime intermission, but found their groove in the third quarter. They then kept control in the final period to complete the fightback.
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Jerom Lastimosa made 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 Php 250,000 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. The P50,000 was their prize for being runners-up in the pre-game dance-off.
Lastimosa himself bagged an additional P50,000 as the Magnolia playmaker was adjudged as the RSJ Most Valuable Player after top-scoring for the winning side with 27 points alongside three rebounds and 10 assists.
“Sobrang happy kasi kahit hindi kami teammates, selection kami, ‘yung laro namin, as a team talaga,” said the former Adamson University star.
Brandon Ramirez scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Ballungay made 20 points and seven rebounds, while Dalph Panopio had 17 points. Sedrick Barefield supplied 14 points, on top of three rebounds and five assists.
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Former MVPs Arwind Santos and Willie Miller contributed nicely as guest players, with the San Miguel Beer legend producing 14 points and eight rebounds in the win that saw the team make 21 Blitz Three field goals.
With this result, the Rookies & Sophomores have now beaten the Juniors for the second time, having done so in 2019 in Calasiao when a team led by CJ Perez and Javee Mocon beat a squad mostly made up of the 2016 Gilas draftees.
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The Juniors, on the other hand, were led by Ricci Rivero with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in the loss. Deschon Winston backed him up with 29.
Kenneth Tuffin had 23 points, while MJ Garcia added a 15-7-5 stat line for a side reinforced by PBA and Gilas icons Marc Pingris and Ranidel de Ocampo.
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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
