Manila and Taguig remained on top of the North and South Divisions, respectively, by beating separate opponents last Tuesday in the Metro League Open basketball tournament at the Hagonoy Sports Complex in Bulacan.
The All-Stars of head coach Adoe Salazar and Mayor Joseph E. Estrada walloped winless Las Piñas, 101-71, for its fourth straight win while the Generals of head coach Bing Victoria and Mayor Lani Cayetano survived Parañaque at home, 88-83, in the event organized by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and supported by the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
Manila’s win improved its record to 6-1 while Taguig notched its third win in a row in the event which has “mobile app ng bayan” Barangay 143 as presentor, Spalding as the official ball and Team Rebel Sports as official outfitter.
In the other game, Valenzuela nipped Quezon City in overtime, 99-96, to grab second place in the North Division, improving its record to 5-1.
Almel Orquina, Kenneth Acibar, Mark Cruz, Paolo Quiminales, Daniel Martinez and Mark Yu scored almost at will for the All Stars.
Orquina finished with 21 points – all from the three-point territory –to lead a balanced scoring attack by Manila, which hardly missed the services of ex-PBA star Joseph Yeo.
The game was one-sided with Manila shooting better from the floor with 43-of-90 (47 percent) against Las Piñas’ 29-of-82 (35 percent).
The All Stars also have more rebounds (59-47), more assists (35-16) and more steals ( 9-7).
