An efficient demolition

With a little over two minutes to play, the Bataan mark of the fourth period, the Bataan Risers’ Pamboy Raymundo ditched his man with a crossover then fed a cutting Alfred Batino for a conversion and one, 79-61, against the home side, the Marikina Shoemasters.

Whatever was left of the massive crowd that filled the Marist Gym in Marikina—that hadn’t when Bataan led, 49-33—at the half filled out.

the Risers won, 81-64, their seventh straight for a 21-2 record that sent Marikina to their fifth home loss in seven outings and an 8-15 record.

that’s a team that quietly, and almost efficiently, is going about its business of pursuing a Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Datu’s Cup title. they are 6-1 when

marching into opposing teams’ home courts, and a perfect 7-0 in road games (they are 8-1 at home at the Bataan Peoples’ Center); an indication of the Risers’ toughness in the face of adversity and hostile ground.

Case in point: with 22 seconds left in the second period, Batino was whistled for a traveling violation and Bataan leading 49-30. Batino hotly contested the call; a protest that took over a minute to pacify. the Marist Gym crowd, perhaps in need of a rallying point for their team that went down from the get-go, heckled Batino.

then the Shoemasters’ JC Po hit a triple off a feed by RJ Deles to whittle away three points from the deficit going into the half. And the crowd

seemed a tad happy that they had the last laugh going into the break.

But any notion that Mariqueños felt they were back in the game were quickly dashed at the onset of the third period when the Risers’ do-it-all forward Vince tolentino scored six straight points driving right at the heart of Marikina’s defense in spite of the presence of rugged center Jondan Salvador who also scored two buckets in that span.

those three daredevil drives showed that Bataan had no fear of coming into another team’s home court and stealing the game.

it was Gary David who got Bataan off to a hot start when he knocked down his first four shots—the first two for threes and the last two deadeye long two-point bombs—for a 16-6 lead.

the Yvan Ludovice started the second quarter by torching the nets for three straight triples—two with a hand on his face—for a 35-21 lead.

then came tolentino’s early third quarter explosion that had Marikina once more reeling.

“that is what we have been trying to achieve,” pointed out Bataan head

Coach Jojo Lastimosa after the game. “We want everyone to step up and that anyone can lead us in scoring at any given time.”

And true enough, Marikina had no answer for that. When the Bataan starters got the lead, the second unit hiked it up. the third unit held the line, then the starters got back in and continued to pummel the Shoemasters with the lead climbing to as high as 23 points.

Bataan shot 48 percent from the field to Marikina’s woeful 24-percent shooting. the Risers scored almost half their output from inside the paint, 42 to Marikina’s 18. And Bataan simply ran the home side out of the gym with a 22-7 edge in fast-break points.

twelve of the 15 players Lastimosa sent in scored (Arvie Bringas had an excellent chance to get on the scoring board, but he muffed two free throws, including one shot from under the basket).

When pressed for a comment about the game, Marikina head Coach Elvis tolentino simply said regarding Bataan, “that’s a very good team that is on a mission.”