Defending champion FEU-NRMF-Gerry’s Grill paraded another solid, all-around player in Fil-German Glenn Gravengard to turn back Victoria Sports-MLQU, 89-57, at the start of the 2017 MBL Open basketball championship at the EAC Sports Center in Ermita, Manila.
Gravengard, the 6-1 guard who played for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in 2011-12, scattered 18 points while quarterbacking for FEU-NRMF of coach Pido Jarencio and manager Nino Reyes.
The 27-year-old Kinesiology graduate, who once worked at the Steve Nash Fitness Clubs, had his finest moment in the second quarter when he scored 11 points.
Wang’s Ballclub-AsiaTech also debuted in style, beating last year’s runner-up Emilio Aguinaldo College, 82-81, in the tournament supported by Smart Sports, Dickies Underwear, Star Bread and Gerry’s Grill.
Gravengard’s smashing debut in the league mirrored the eye-popping start of his half-brother Clay Crellin for the same Fairview, Quezon City based team in the MBL eight months ago.