Bicol-LCC Malls picked up its first win in the Chooks-to-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Invitational powered by TM via an 80-68 romp of Laguna-Krah Asia, Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
It was a huge bounce-back win for the Volcanoes, who were coming off a tight 65-70 loss against Basilan last night.
“We played well today compared to our performance yesterday. But base on what we’ve seen, although we are in the tournament already, we are still a work in progress,” said Volcanoes head coach Aldin Ayo.
Mac Tallo paced Bicol with 18 points, seven rebounds, and two assists in just 22 minutes and three seconds of action.
The Volcanoes put up its biggest lead in the fourth quarter at 19 off a three-pointer from Kent Lao, 71-52, with 4:31 left.
Lao, who drilled three treys in the contest, finished with 14 points. Ralph Tansingco chipped in 10 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Dennis Santos was limited to just eight points after pouring 22 in the previous match.
“If you noticed, yesterday we shot 50 three-point shots and we made only 11. That means trigger happy lahat eh. Everybody wants to score, although we’ve discussed that already. Pero siyempre first game, excited,” shared Ayo.
Bicol made 11 three-point shots once again against Laguna, but limited its attempts to just 35 on 31.4-percent.
The Volcanoes upped its standing to 1-1 in Group B. On the other hand, Laguna slipped to 0-1.
On the other hand, Kim Aurin top-scored for the Heroes with 13 points laces with six rebounds and three assists.
MJ Dela Virgen and AJ Coronel chipped in 11 apiece. Christian had 10 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
Bicol will square off against Makati on Wednesday at 12:00 PM. Meanwhile, Laguna will face Marikina tomorrow, Monday at 7:30 PM.
The Scores:
Bicol-LCC Malls 80 – Tallo 18, Lao 14, Tansingco 10, Santos 8, Marcelino 7, Cruz 5, Huang 4, Lanete 4, Yee 4, Pericas 2, Luib 2, Gabawan 2
Laguna-Krah Asia 68 – Aurin 13, Coronel 11, Dela Virgen 11, Fajarito 10, Serios 7, Rivera 5, Guiab 4, Fuentes 3, Charcos 2, Laban 2, Anonuevo 0, Saguiguit 0
Quarterscores: 14-12, 36-23, 54-39, 80-68
