Mark “The AntMan” Cruz stung the meanest as South Cotabato rallied to beat Biñan Tatak Gel, 85-82, and close in on a semifinal slot in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) semifinal round on Thursday, Oct. 11, at the Batangas City Coliseum.
The 5-foot-6 Cruz, the smallest guy on the floor, went perfect on his field goals and pumped in 20 of his 24 points in the second half, highlighted by an 8-point cluster in the fourth quarter, to push the Warriors past the Lagunenses, who led for over 36 minutes only to crumble in the wake of the Warriors’ spirited comeback from a 41-53 deficit.
In the other game, Batangas struck from afar and subdued Davao, 76-66, to likewise move within a win of the South Division semifinal round.
Biñan was still ahead, 82-78, with 1 minute and 35 seconds left, only to be held scoreless the rest of the way, while South Cotabato strung eight points on a triple by Cruz, an inside thrust by Jammer Jamito and split charities by Felix Apreku and Marwin Dionisio.
Cruz canned three triples and three 2-pointers to go with 9 free throws out of 11 tries to earn best player honors over Jamito, who chalked 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks. Val Acuna was the other Warrior in twin digits with 14.
Levi Hernandez drilled in seven triples while Cedric Ablaza added two of the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters’ total of 12 that swamped the Davao Occidental Tigers’ pool of five, proving to be decisive in Game 1 of their best-of-three quarterfinal playoffs.
Adding 5 rebounds to his game-high 21 points in just 19 minutes and 56 seconds of play, Hernandez emerged the Daily Fantasy best player over Ablaza, who posted 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
Philip Paniamogan contributed 12 points, including two treys, plus five assists and 3 rebounds, while Jong Baloria chipped in nine points and 3 rebounds for Batangas, which duplicated its 71-59 conquest of Davao in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 29-team tournament.
