Unbeaten Bacoor Strike sa Serbisyo widened its gap from the rest of the pack following another dominating win, this time a 93-78 trouncing of Marikina in the Metro League Reinforced (Second) Conference Saturday night at its homecourt at the Strike Gym in Cavite.
With RJ Ramirez and Paolo Castro setting the pace, the Strikers pounced on the Shoelanders right away with a 22-7 lead in the opening canto which they never relinquished the rest of the way.
Bacoor even ballooned the gap to as big as 24 points en route to another convincing win that extended its unblemished slate to 8-0 in the South Division of the M-League which is backed by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and with Barangay 143 as league presentor.
Pasigueño also clinched a spot in the South Division semis after a stinging 88-80 upset over Caloocan-Gerry’s Grill in the first game.
Though import Prince Orizu wasn’t able to suit-up, the well-balanced Strikers still proved too much to handle for Marikina with all but two of their 16 players barging into the scoring department.
Ramirez led the way with 13 points, four rebounds, and six assists while Castro and Matthew Aquino — son of PBA legend Marlou — also chipped in 10 markers apiece.
Former PBA cager Michael Mabulac also contributed nine points with ex-Adamson standout Dawn Ochea, Mark Doligon, Kenmark Miranda and Mark Montuano all posting eight markers apiece in limited actions.
Jebson Carl Po, on the other hand, had his 19 points, three rebounds and four assists going down the drain in the loss of Marikina which slid to 1-5 in the North Division of the M-League that is also bankrolled by Synergy 88, World Balance, Excellent Noodles and San Miguel Corporation.
Meanwhile, Pasigueño unleashed a strong 33-17 fourth quarter blast to frustrate Caloocan and hold on to the driver seat for the most part of the game.
Import Eugene Toba Okwuchukwu tallied 19 points and eight rebounds, teaming up with ex-pro Jerwin Gaco who turned back the hands of time with a monstrous performance of 19 markers, 16 boards and six assists.
Timoteo III Gatchalian also added 15 points while Jobert Medina and Ryusei Koga put up 11 markers each for the Pasigueños who improved to a 3-3 slate, formally following Bacoor (8-0) and Taguig (6-2) to the semis of the South Division of the tourney that also has SMS Global Technologies, Inc. as official livestream and technology partner, Spalding as official ball, Team Rebel Sports as official outfitter, PLDT as official internet service provider, and Manila Bulletin as media partner.
Reinforcement Abdoulaye Niang, for his part, had 15 points and 20 rebounds in a crucial loss for the Supremos whose playoff bid got stalled in the competitive North Division.
Caloocan fell to 4-3 to share the second spot with reigning all-Filipino champion Valenzuela-San Marino in the North Division of the M-League which is also supported by Gerry’s Grill, Summit Water, Alcoplus, Nature’s Spring and Goodfellow.
The Scores:
First Game
Bacoor 93 — Ramirez 13, Castro 10, Aquino 10, Mabulac 9, Miranda 8, Ochea 8, Montuano 8, Doligon 8, Bugarin 4, Galicia 4, Descamento 4, Pangilinan 3, Malabag 2, Maligon 2, Acuna 0
Marikina 78 — Po 19, Catipay 16, Gines 15, Deles 14, I. Mendoza 12, Basco 2, Zapanta 0, R. Mendoza 0
Quarterscores: 22-7, 39-30, 65-50, 93-78
Second Game
Pasigueño 88 — Okwuchukwu 19, Gaco 19, Gatchalian 15, Medina 11, Koga 11, Sorela 7, Caranguian 6, Doroteo 0,
Caloocan 80 — De Mesa 16, Niang 15, Sombero 8, Darang 8, De Leon 8, Bauzon 7, Enriquez 6, Tay 0, Ortiz 0
Quarterscores: 26-21, 39-42, 55-63,88-80
