San Juan too much for Bulacan; Valenzuela edges Basilan

SAN JUAN Knights continued to serve notice of its title aspirations, blasting Bulacan, 94-76, in the MPBL Datu Cup Saturday night at the Valenzuela Astrodome.

So overpowering were the Knights that they were able to set new milestones in just their second game of the season. San Juan become the first team in league history to score 61 points at the half.

But just when everybody thought the Go-For- Gold-backed Knights were just purely an explosive team, they were able to show their tenacity on the defensive end. They stole the ball from the Mighty Sports-supported Kuyas 15 times, a league-tying record.

The Knights, who forced the Kuyas in committing 25 turnovers, also turned those miscues to 40 points off turnovers, also a league record.

For San Juan head coach Randy Alcantara, the team’s commitment on the defensive end was the primary reason why the team also had a sensational offensive game.

“We were enjoying playing, sharing the ball and at the same time, we were playing defense. Those extra passes are what made the game more enjoyable,” added Mr. Alcantara.

San Juan posted its biggest lead of the game, 56-25, in the latter part of the second period and there was no looking back from there on.

Earlier, Valenzuela escaped past a hard- fighting Basilan squad, 96-94.

The Classic squandered a 10- point lead in the final four minutes of the match and had to rely on Rocky Acidre’s late-game scoring spree to survive rally by the Steel.

Mr. Acidre had back-to-back triples and a bucket that kept the Classic afloat.

Ar- Raouf Julkipli’s triple in the 2:29 mark of the match knotted the count for the last time at 85-all as the team from Mindanao threatened on snatching a win from the host squad.

But Mr. Acidre answered back with a trey of his own 11 seconds later.

Later on, after Dennis Daa converted on two free throws off a foul from Chad Alonzo, to shove the Steel within striking distance, Mr. Acidre came through with another cold-blooded trey as Valenzuela was poised to put away its rival from there. —