By Jerome Lagunzad
Games Today
(Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium)
7 p.m. – Imus vs Caloocan
9 p.m. – Quezon City vs Bulacan
Collegiate standouts Teytey Teodoro and Bong Quinto came up big just when they were needed the most as host Batangas City survived Parañaque City in overtime, 87-79, to stay unscathed in the 2018 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Anta Rajah Cup.
Former pro Val Acuña continued his fine play with 19 points, spiked by four triples, but it was the younger duo of Teodoro and Quinto who delivered the killer blows that enabled the Athletics to pull away from the upset-conscious Patriots much to the delight of the appreciate crowd inside the Batangas City Coliseum.
Teodoro, a former gunner of Jose Rizal University, tallied five big points in their telling 12-2 breakaway, including a dagger of a trey with 46 seconds left, while the 6-foot-3 Quinto tallied 17 points, the same output of former pro Lester Alvarez.
Despite winning their fifth consecutive match, Batangas City coach Mac Tan sounded far from pleased.
“Bago mag-half time, I told them na instead of playing for the crowd, nagshop-show boat tayo,” he lamented.
“Yun ang problema natin. Dapat nga kakampi natin ‘yung crowd, sumobra kami sa pag-showboat. Tested kami sa away games, but not in our homecourt.”
Former Perpetual Help standout Gab Dagangon led all scorers with 21 points while big man Daniel De Guzman added 15 points that all went for naught as Parañaque went cold in the crunch and, in the process, dropped to 2-3 in a tie with idle Bulacan.
Earlier, Yves Sazon took charge down the stretch as Navotas pulled off a come-from-behind 82-77 victory over erstwhile red-hot Valenzuela to get back on track.
Sazon banged in all but three of his 16 points in the final frame where the Clutch dominated the fading Classic, 34-12, on the way to stopping a two-game losing skid and improving their mark to 3-2 in a tie with their latest victims.
“I have faith in all of my players, basta pinasok ko ‘yan dyan, kumpiyansa ako sa kanila,” said Navotas coach Elvis Tolentino, who also got 17 big points from Letran guard JP Calvo.