DAVAO CITY — Fifth seed Zamboanga Family’s Brand Sardines gutted out a 78-74 victory over fourth-seeded Batangas-Tanduay, to take Game One of the 2019-20 Chooks-to-Go MPBL Lakan Cup best-of-three quarterfinals, Monday at the Rizal Memorial Colleges Gym here.
It was Davaoeno Alvin Pasaol who led the charge for Zamboanga, finishing with 17 points, five rebounds, two steals, one block, and an assist.
With the crowd cheering them on, largely thanks to Pasaol, Zamboanga led by 10, 42-32, early in the third canto.
Trailing 76-67 with 3:37 left in the game, the Athletics launched a spirited comeback. They scored six straight points, capped by Jeff Viernes’s two freebies with 28.8 ticks, to slash their deficit to just three, 76-73.
Then on the other end, Alvin Pasaol’s inbound was stolen by Jayson Grimaldo. A scramble for the loose ball occurred, and Viernes picked up a foul from Anton Asistio.
However, Viernes split his charities with 15.3 seconds remaining, 76-74, before Robin Roño was fouled.
Roño calmly sank both free throws, before Viernes missed two triple attempts to end the match.
“We need to stay composed kasi playoffs na ito. Good thing we stuck on our defensive plan in the end. We made stops, we controlled the rebounds and hit the crucial free throws,” head coach Britt Reroma said.
Roño added 13 markers and eight rebounds. Aaron Black chipped in 11 points, four boards, and three dimes. Meanwhile, Harold Arboleda chalked up 10 markers and seven rebounds.
On the other hand, Viernes paced the Athletics with 18 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Jhaymo Eguilos had 16 markers and nine boards.
Batangas’ Rey Suerte and Jaydee Tungcab missed the game since they had to attend to Gilas Pilipinas duties in Manila.
The Family’s Brand Sardines-backed squad looks to close the series on February 21, Friday, at their foes’ home turf at the Batangas City Coliseum.
The Scores:
Zamboanga-Family’s Brand Sardines 78 – Pasaol 17, Roño 13, Black 11, Arboleda 10, Santillan 7, Asistio 7, Bonsubre 4, De Vera 3, Villamor 3, Thiele 3, Manzo 0, Reyes 0.
Batangas-Tanduay 74 – Viernes 18, Eguilos 16, Santos 11, Melano 10, Bragais 9, Teodoro 5, Grimaldo 4, Koga 1, Basibas 0, Rogado 0, Lopez 0.
Quarterscores: 22-25, 40-32, 57-54, 78-74.
Story by Justin Valencia
Photo by Nicks Hernandez
