Fancied San Juan City flirted with disaster before it escaped past host Caloocan, 81-77, on Saturday night to preserve its flawless start in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Anta Datu Cup at the Caloocan Sports Complex.
Former pro Larry Rodriguez came through with his most efficient performance yet with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting and 11 rebounds while Samboy De Leon added 12 points, spiked by three triples, to help the Knights claim their fourth straight victory and maintain their hold of the top spot in the North Division.
But it wasn’t easy as expected by many as the Knights nearly blew an 18-point lead in the final period after the Supremos, egged on by a partisan crowd, charged back hard and pulled closest at seven points at 69-76 with less than three minutes left.
However, Aaron Jeruta drained a much-needed jumper before Rodriguez provided the stability in the lane that cut short Caloocan’s figthback.
Earlier, the Valenzuela Classic pulled the rug from under inaugural champion Batangas City Athletics, 78-66.
(Jerome Lagunzad)
