Collegiate champions La Salle-Ecooil and Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda continued to dominate the competition in the 2024 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.
The Green Archers romped past the Go Torakku-St. Clare Saints, 90-63, while the Red Lions demolished Keanzel Basketball, 109-59, securing their second victory in as many outings on Monday.
Jonnel Policarpio sustained his fine play with 17 points and nine rebounds after nearly achieving a triple-double of 22 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists in the opener.
He received support from the same cast as last game, led by UAAP 3×3 MVP CJ Austria with 15 points and Mike Phillips, who collected 12 points and 16 rebounds, along with three assists and two steals.
Henry Agunanne contributed 12 points, while Raven Cortez and Earl Abadam added nine and eight, respectively, for the Green Archers, who continued to excel even without reigning D-League and UAAP MVP Kevin Quiambao.
“Despite the two wins, we still have to learn, and we believe we can still improve, especially in execution. That’s one thing we have to work on,” said Green Archers assistant coach Caloy Garcia.
(C) PBA D-League
Meanwhile, led by NCAA Finals MVP James Payosing with 18 points in only 13 minutes of play, all 15 players scored as Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda hardly broke a sweat once again, following a 92-59 win against Go Torakku-St. Clare in last week’s opener.
Richi Calimag added 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists off the bench, while fellow second-stringers Bryan Sajonia and Joe Celzo contributed 12 points each in a relentless barrage for the Red Lions.
San Beda amassed a total of 74 bench points compared to Keanzel’s 29, which only shot 30 percent from the field and committed 20 errors. In contrast, the Red Lions had a 55-percent clip with significant advantages in rebounds (53-33) and assists (34-11), while committing only 12 turnovers.
“Like our last game, hindi pa namin kilala ‘yung kalaban namin so we had to do what we needed to do better than our last game. Kailangan i-respeto ‘yung kalaban at syempre, nasa D-League sila so hindi pwede i-take for granted,” said Red Lions head coach Yuri Escueta.
Keanzel, composed of the core from Mark Herrera’s AMA Online Education squad, was led by James Martinez’s 14 points.
John Rojas and Ryan Sual contributed 14 points apiece, but Go Torakku-St. Clare still suffered its second consecutive blowout loss after also falling to Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda, 92-59.
The Scores:
First Game:
Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda 109 – Payosing 18, Calimag 14, Sajonia 12, Celzo 12, Songcuya 8, Estacio 8, Andrada 6, Lopez 6, Etulle 6, Gonzales 4, Puno 4, Tagle 3, Tagala 3, Royo 3, Jalbuena 2.
Keanzel Basketball 59 – Martinez 14, Panlilio 9, Ceniza 9, Alota 9, Gayosa 8, Villaflor 4, Camay 2, Calacalsada 2, Yambao 2, Romero 0, Alina 0, Wong 0, Villamor 0, Ibo 9, Advincula 0.
Quarterscores: 28-16, 62-39, 86-55, 109-59.
Second Game:
EcoOil-La Salle 90 – Policarpio 17, Austria 15, Phillips 12, Agunanne 12, Cortez 9, Abadam 8, Rubico 4, Daja 4, Alian 4, Marasigan 3, David 2, Gaspay 0, Gollena 0.
Go Torakku-St. Clare 63 – Rojas 14, Sual 14, Ndong 9, Decano 9, Estacio 7, Galang 6, Yu 3, Lopez 1, Balacaoc 0, Dumancas 0, Cabauatan 0.
Quarterscores: 26-11, 47-29, 75-47, 90-63.
