Davao Occidental ran roughshod over Basilan, 74-55, to take Game One of the best-of-three semifinals in the Pilipinas Super League Pearl of the Orient Cup presented by Cocolife powered by SMART 5G, Tuesday night at the Manuel Roxas Sports Complex.
The Tigers leaned on a massive 16-2 run in the third canto to turn what was a close game into a lopsided match. Up by just five at halftime, 32-27, Davao Occidental turned their game up another notch, going on that telling run to establish a 48-29 lead with 6:13 left in the third.
The lead ballooned to a high of 27, 60-33, but Basilan made a game out of it with a 20-2 run to trim the deficit to just nine, 53-62, with 5:02 remaining in the game. The Tigers, though, had too much firepower as Emman Calo swished a triple while veteran forward Larry Rodriguez canned a deuce to restore their lead to 14 with just 3:25 left.
Calo led Davao Occidental with 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks.
Rodriguez added 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Nobody scored in double-figures for Basilan, with Med Salim being the high-point-man with nine points to go with nine boards.
Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro took a step closer to booking a spot in the finals as they beat Roxas, 72-64.
The game was tied at 63-all with 4:05 to go in the game after Justin Serrano and Oliver De Guzman canned consecutive three-pointers. But Ubalde responded, stripping Serrano of the ball before coasting for an unmolested layup to push CDO in front.
Roxas had a chance to tie the game but Jeson Delfinado missed two free throws. CDO then pounced with John Tayongtong driving down the lane and scoring on a left-handed layup to push the Higalas’ lead to four, 67-63. Ubalde then sealed CDO’s win with a tough, contested jumper that put them ahead, 69-63, with just 56 seconds left in the match.
Jaybie Mantilla led the Higalas with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while bull strong forward Red Cachuela added 10 points and eight rebounds.
Mario Bonleon and Jaymar Gimpayan scored 14 points apiece for Roxas.
Game Two is set later in the day.
The Scores:
First Game:
Davao Occidental (74) — Calo 17, Rodriguez 14, Agovida 11, Dagangon 8, Grimaldo 7, Wilson 6, Adormeo 6, Goloran 3, Palencia 2, Custodio 0, Terso 0, Anib 0
Basilan (55) — Salim 9, Melano 8, Pangilinan 7, Mag-Isa 6, Pascual 5, Sazon 5, Koga 5, Abanto 4, Octubre 3, Neri 3, Torres 0, Santos 0, Orense 0, Hanapi 0, Bayquin 0
Quarterscores: 19-11, 32-27, 60-37, 74-55
Second Game:
Cagayan de Oro (72) — Mantilla 25, Cachuela 10, Galvez 8, Tayongtong 8, Ubalde 7, Kwong 6, Royo 4, Pasia 2, Lozada 2, Lastimosa 0, Saycon 0, Dela Pena 0, Castellano 0, Diego 0.
Roxas (62) — Bonleon 14, Gimpayan 14, Segura 8, Delfinado 6, De Guzman 5, Serrano 5, Mabigat 4, Escosio 2, Dela Cruz 2, Basco 0, Arellano 0, Templo 0, Mandreza 0.
Quarterscores: 28-16, 40-38, 59-55, 72-64
