Mar Villahermosa put up a tournament-high performance, lifting Makati FSD to a huge come-from-behind win against Laguna Krah, taking a 92-86 win to stay alive in the 2021 Chooks-to-Go MPBL Invitational’s Pool B, Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Makati rose to 2-1 in the five-team group. Laguna, on the other hand, is eliminated from the playoff race.
Basilan sits on top at 2-0 while Bicol, who holds the tiebreaker against Makati, is 2-1. Marikina, meanwhile, is 1-2.
“After we lost, maganda yung intensity ng players namin,” said Blazers head coach Jocas Castillo as they lost to Bicol last Wednesday, 86-71. “We were able to build our character and we were able to focus more on the game.”
And they have Villahermosa to thank for it.
Villahermosa already tallied 26 points on 5-of-5 shooting from deep in the first half. That helped Makati keep pace with Laguna.
“Kahapon nag-usap kami ni coach at sabi niya, kailangan ko mag-step up talaga,” said Villahermosa, who was averaging 14.0 points prior to this game. “Mindset namin kanina, gusto lang namin manalo.”
Down 78-77 midway through the final frame, Lord Casajeros scored on a jumper. That then kickstarted an 8-2 spurt to gain an 85-80 lead with 2:47 left.
Jonathan Rivera and AJ Coronel still tried to will the Heroes back. But Jan Formento and Mar Villahermosa had all the answers to keep Makati alive.
“As long as we work hard especially sa defense, meron kaming paglalagyan talaga,” said Castilo. “Nagkaroon kami ng konteng adjustment sa defensive scheme namin ni fourth quarter kanina. Kung ma-implement namin yun, maganda ang tatakbuhin namin.”
Villahermosa ended up with a tournament-high 33 points with seven assists three rebounds and two steals.
Casajeros added 18 points and six rebounds, while Formento chipped in 11 points.
On the other hand, Laguna was led by Perpetual Help standout Kim Aurin got 22 points and three rebounds for the Heroes. Letran Knight Christian Fajarito tallied a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Laguna plays its final game of the tournament on Sunday against Basilan on Sunday at 10:30 AM. Makati faces the same team on Monday at 7:30 PM.
The Scores:
Makati (92) – Villahermosa 33, Casajeros 18, Formento 11, Arpia 7, Alonzo 7, Castellano 7, Lugo 5, Alcoriza 4, Sombero 0.
Laguna (86) – Aurin 22, Fajarito 20, Saguiguit 14, Coronel 8, Anonuevo 6, Rivera 5, Fuentes 4, Dela Virgen 3, Charcos 2, Serios 2, Diego 0, Guiab 0.
Quarterscores: 20-26, 46-49, 68-70, 92-86
