Bureau of Fire stops AFP’s winning ways

Ex-professionals Rob Wainwright and Gilbert Malabanan came through with double-double performances as Bureau of Fire Protection snapped Armed Forces of the Philippines’ three-game winning streak, 104-97, in the 6th UNTV Cup held over the weekend at the Pasig City Sports Center.

The Fil-American Wainwright, 43, led the BFP’s strong start as the Firefighters took a 26-15 lead before padding their lead to 58-33 at halftime.

The AFP Cavaliers launched a comeback midway through the third period but time was not on their side and suffered their first defeat in four games in Group A of the tournament organized by UNTV for the country’s public servants.

Wainwright, who played for six PBA teams in an 11-year pro career, tallied 19 points and 13 boards while Malabanan also scored 19 points aside from grabbing 11 boards as BFP kept its second round hopes alive.

In the other Group A match, GSIS tied BFP for fourth to fifth places with an 83-73 win over Department of Health while PDEA finally barged into the win column by crushing Department of Justice, 105-86.

The chosen charity of the champion team, according to UNTV president and CEO Daniel Razon, will receive R4 million while the beneficiary of the runnerup team will receive R2 million.