By Jerome Lagunzad
Games Tomorrow
(University of the Assumption Gym)
5:30 p.m. – Marikina vs Zamboanga
7:30 p.m. – Pampanga vs Parañaque
Drawing strength from its shocktroopers, fancied San Juan hurdled Pasay with ease, 89-66, on Wednesday night for its third straight victory in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Anta Datu Cup inside a packed The Arena in San Juan City.
Guard Rian Ayonayon provided the offensive punch off the bench with a team-high 16 points while former pro John Wilson pumped in a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds as the fancied Knights seized the solo lead in the North Division.
Backup Lester Reyes also accounted for 10 of the team’s 53 points off the bench while former pro star Mac Cardona collected eight points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals for San Juan, which led by as many as 26 points on its way to another double-digit victory, underlining its billing as one of the top contenders.
“We don’t want to disappoint our fans. I know they’ve been waiting for a long time to experience this,” said San Juan coach Randy Alcantara, who suited up for the Knights during their title run in the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association back in 2000.
More than their sustained attack, Alcantara was more than pleased with the way the Knights put the clamps down on the Voyagers, who missed 36 out of their 54 attempts from the field and turned the ball over 18 times.
“I just reminded my players to enjoy the game, but at the same time, they have to defend and play within the system. Whatever their defense gives us, they just have to be ready at all times,” added Alcantara.
Earlier, former pro Reil Cervantes regained his shooting touch as the Manila Stars got back on track at the expense of the Valenzuela Classic, 89-84.
The 6-foot-3 Cervantes proved on target from beyond the arc, knocking down six triples for a game-high 24 points, while Aris Dionisio tallied 13 points and 13 rebounds on top of three assists to help Manila bounce back from a close 99-98 loss to Makati last June 28 and improve its mark to 2-1.
Ford Ruaya finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds while ex-pro Paolo Hubalde added 13 points and 10 assists that all went down the drain with the Classic’s second loss after three matches.
Former Lyceum stalwart Shaq Alanes tallied 16 points while Jan Jamon added 12 and Bobby Balucanag had 10 points but they still could not prevent the Voyagers from absorbing their second setback after three tries.
