Basilan-Jumbo Plastic Medical Depot romped Marikina, 98-83, to pick up its second consecutive win in the Chooks-to-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Invitational powered by TM, Thursday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Michael Juico erupted for 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field. He also picked up nine rebounds and two assists.
Basilan opened the flood gates right from the get-go. They put up a 24-9 advantage to kick-start Juico’s hot outing.
The team eventually led by as much as 25 points, 53-28, off a Jay Collado lay up in the 8:22-mark of the third quarter.
Yves Sazon led a 15-5 rally in the fourth to slice the lead to nine, but it was not enough. Basilan then raised the lead to 19 with 3:10 left.
“They were making their shots in transition and ‘di namin nalo-locate yung scrambling defense,” said Basilan head coach Jerson Cabiltes. “So nung timeout on the dead-ball, sinabi ko lang sa kanila na, ‘We need to locate.’
“We can’t play not to lose, Dapat aggressive pa rin kami on both ends,” he added.
Jay Collado supplied 15 points and four boards for the Jumbo Plastic-backed team. JR Taganas added 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and a steal.
Basilan went up to 2-0 in Pool B. On the other hand, Marikina slipped to 1-2.
Bicol is at 2-1, while Makati (1-1), Marikina (1-2), and Laguna (0-2) followed.
Sazon fired 26 points, while Renato Ular put up a monster double-double of 25 points and 16 rebounds. Ular also had four assists, a block, and a steal.
Next up for Basilan is Laguna on Sunday at 10:30 AM. On the other hand, Marikina will take on Bicol on Saturday at 5:00 PM.
The Scores:
Basilan (98) – Juico 25, Collado 15, Taganas 12, Serrano 11, Siruma 10, Gimpayan 9, Manalang 8, Bringas 5, Ng 2, Alanes 1, Uyloan 0, Reyes 0.
Marikina (83) – Sazon 26, Ular 25, Española 8, Gonzales 8, Tolentino 8, Tambeling 5, Casajeros 3, Palattao 0, Mendoza 0, Pascual 0, Carurucan 0.
Quarterscores: 24-9, 43-25, 72-58, 98-83