Marikina weathered Jayboy Solis’ late-surge as they dispatched the also-ran Paranaque-Yabo Sports, 89-82, in the 2019-20 Chooks-to-Go/MPBL Lakan Cup at the Valenzuela Astrodome, Friday.
Down by 12 points, 75-87, Paranaque’s Solis went on a 7-2 run against Marikina, trimming the Shoemasters’ lead to just eight points, 81-89, with 43.5 seconds remaining,
Solis then fished a foul from Ato Ular with 22 ticks left and converted both free throws to pull his squad to within seven points. However, time was not on their side as Warren Ybanez milked the clock to cap off Marikina’s fifth win of the season.
“Ngayon hindi kami nag lapse nung last kasi problem namin yun lagi e, yung end game. Ngayon kahit papaano, maganda rin yung addition ni Ular talaga sa amin, nagcocompliment siya kay Jondan Salvador saka kay [Yves] Sazon,” said Marikina head coach Elvis Tolentino.
This is just the Shoemasters’ fifth win in 23 games to remain at 15th place in the league’s Northern Division.
Yves Sazon fired 33 points on 13-34 shooting from the field to go along with six boards and three steals while Ular posted monster numbers of 25 points and 17 rebounds for Marikina.
Meanwhile, Solis finished with 26 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field while also draining 10-of-12 from the charity stripe. He also gathered six rebounds and four blocked shots for Parañaque
Archie Sunga had 14 points while Myk Saguiguit added 12 markers for the Yabo Sports-backed squad.
The Patriots dropped their sixth consecutive game for an 8-19 record in the 13th spot of the same division.
The Scores:
Marikina (89) – Sazon 33, Ular 25, Pascual 10, Tambeling 5, Dysam 4, Mendoza 4, Ybanez 3, Casajeros 2, Padua 1, Fortuno 0, Gines 0, Salvador 0, Espanola 0, Cadorna 0
Paranaque-Yabo Sports (82) – Solis 26, Sunga 14, Saguiguit 12, Vizcarra 9, Mangalino 5, Rabe 4, Antonares 3, Abugan 2, Lucente 2, Larotin 2, Begaso 0, Banzali 0
Quarterscores: 22-18, 40-42, 64-60, 89-82
Story by Jonash Dannug
Photo by Nicks Hernandez
