Pampanga relied on Mark Cruz’s solid overall outing to score a 75-65 victory over Pasay in the 2019-20 Chooks-to-Go/MPBL Lakan SeasonTuesday at the Bahayang Pag-asa Gym in Valenzuela City.
Cruz, who was held to just two points in the first half, recovered just in time, finishing with 14 points, 14 assists, seven rebounds, and four steals to push the Giant Lanterns up to fifth place with a 15-9 record in the Northern Division.
With the Giant Lanterns already ahead by 10 points in the final frame, the former Letran star stepped on the gear and scored five points in a span of 27 seconds to give Pampanga its biggest lead of the match, 62-47.
Behind Jan Jamon, Axel Inigo, and Jason Opiso, the Voyagers had an uprising, trimming the deficit down to just five points, 59-64, with 2:29 minutes left.
Levi Hernandez then connected from downtown in the ensuing play while Maiquez followed it up with a top of the key jumper to take the fight out of Pasay.
“Nag celebrate, nagkaroon ng complacency e. Kaya nire-remind ko sila, ‘wag tayong maging complacent. ‘Wag tayong mag celebrate ‘di pa tapos ‘yan. Well, they played good defense, they executed our game plan,” said Pampanga head coach Bong Ramos on his team’s late-game fumble.
Hernandez finished with 15 points and four rebounds while Maiquez and Juico finished with 13 and 12 markers, respectively.
Jason Opiso led the Voyagers with 12 points and two rebounds while Raymund Ilagan and Dhon Reverente chipped in 11 points apiece.
Pasay remained in the ninth spot of the Northern Division with a 13-11 win-loss card.
The Scores:
Pampanga 75 – Hernandez 15, Cruz 14, Maiquez 13, Juico 12, Thompson 6, Apreku 5, Cervantes 3, Binuya 2, Alberto 2, Fabian 2, Concepcion 1, Acuno 0, Enriquez 0, Baltazar 0, Gomez 0.
Pasay 65 – Opiso 12, Ilagan 11, Reverente 11, Lastimosa 8, Inigo 8, Hilario 4, Moradas 1, Lomtong 0, Vitug 0, Chan 0, Belencion 0, Solero 0.
Quarterscores: 17-17, 35-28, 51-43, 75-65.
