Mindoro-EOG Burlington capped off its pool stage campaign with a wire-to-wire 87-73 victory over Gen San in the Chooks-to-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball, Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Allen Liwag dropped 23 points along with 14 rebounds to keep the Tamaraws alive in the playoff race.
The EOG-backed team pulled away in the third frame, leading by as much as 23 points, 58-35, off a Nat Cosejo layup in the 7:05-mark.
“We did our part in terms of the elimination round,” said Tamaraws head coach Britt Reroma. “We finished the eliminations on a high note, with a win – we achieved that goal. But it’s now beyond our control.”
The victory over the Warriors put Mindoro at 4-1 in Pool D — a win ahead of Imus (3-1) and Manila (3-1). A loss for either Imus or Manila tomorrow will propel the Tamaraws to the playoffs.
In case of a three-way tie, Mindoro will settle for third in the pool and miss the playoffs.
“Ang nasa isip na lang namin is magdasal. Sana sa dalawang team na maglalaro bukas, isa lang naman dun sana matalo. Alam naman natin na this is a competitive league. So knowing yung mga kalaban nila, I’m sure they’re gonna give their best,” added Reroma.
Jeramer Cabanag added 16 points in the win along with four assists and two rebounds.
Cosejo chipped in nine markers, six boards, and three assists. Ryusei Koga also had nine points to go along with four rebounds for Mindoro.
On the other hand, Ronjay Buenafe paced the also-ran Warriors with 20 points. Cris Masaglang added 18 points and four rebounds.
Gen San ended the MPBL Invitational with a 1-4 standing. Meanwhile, both Rizal (1-3) and Bulacan (1-3) have the chance to improve their slate tomorrow.
The Scores:
Mindoro-EOG Burlington 87 – Liwag 23, Cabanag 16, Cosejo 9, Koga 9, Villapando 8, Baetiong 7, Saldana 5, Mallari 4, Castro 3, Mariano 3, Caldozo 0, Matias 0.
Gen San 73 – Buenafe 20, Masaglang 18, Mondragon 9, Raymundo 9, Anderson 6, Ramirez 6, Apreku 3, Ongteco 2, Mag-isa 0, Chan 0, Pangilinan 0.
Quarterscores: 20-16, 44-35, 67-55, 87-73.
