NBS Kris eked out a thrilling 72-66 win over Caloocan to grab a share of the lead in the National Capital Region Leg of the Manila Bankers Life-Pilipinas Super League 18-Under tournament on Saturday at Veacon Hope Gymnasium in Caloocan.
Far Eastern University-Diliman standout Liam Salangsang led NBS Kris with a line of 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field with six rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Supporting him was University of the East High’s Vhon Roldan who got 10 points — all from the charity stripe.
The win put NBS Kris on top of the NCR Leg table with a 2-0 standing to share the lead with Farm Fresh-Letran and Taytay in this tournament co-presented by SCD and Dumper party-list, and supported by J Project Clothings, MDC, Bluesky Advertising, NET 25, Wcube Solutions Inc., Hotel SOGO, and Converge.
Batang Kankaloo, who fell to 1-2, was led by John Vincent Reyes’ 20-point, 13-rebound double-double. DJ Holloway and John Michael Armario chipped in 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, Mapua High School-521 Trading notched its first win in two games after routing Mandaluyong Namayan, 86-63.
Sean Salvador led three Red Robins in double-figures with 14 points while Jose Dayrit and Joaquin Coronel added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Tigre fell to 2-2 and was led by Adrian Celis with 16 markers.
In the lone Luzon leg game of the day, LDG San Pedro returned to the win column after a 77-68 win over Bulacan.
Jahn Dave Panelo made sure to erase the memory of their stinging 62-100 loss to Calamba City last May 7, dropping 27 points and 21 rebounds to tow his side to a 2-1 record.
Letran-commit Shad Chang (18 points, five rebounds, four steals), Joseph Timtiman (15 points), and Xyrus Gemao (11 points) also delivered for San Pedro.
Jacob Malangen was the sole bright spot for the 1-2 Batang Lakan, finishing with 24 points and nine rebounds.
In the Visayas leg held at Cebu City Sports Institute, Michael Asoro of Ateneo steered Dea’s Bakeshop x RAD to its second straight win after a 73-67 win over GM Seafront.
Asoro, who only made his debut with the team last weekend, tallied 13 points and seven rebounds to even DBxR to an even slate.
Supporting him was Jiebel Abella, who scored 18 points and grabbed 10 boards.
Basak Where I Belong, meanwhile, weathered a late rally by upset-seeking Sidlak Danao, eking out a 100-97 win to notch their first win in four games.
Niel John Castro and Carmelo Cabahug shone brightly for Basak with the former scoring 21 points on five treys while the latter netting 17 points and nine assists.
Keith Montes’ 33-point outing went for naught as Danao fell to 0-5. On the other hand, GM Sefront dropped to 2-3.
