Star nails back-to-back wins
The Star Hotshots cruised to a second consecutive victory as they thumped the struggling GlobalPort Batang Pier, 103-77, in the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Saturday at the Mindanao Civic Center gym in Lane del Norte.
Import Tony Mitchell bucked a slow start to finish with 22 points and 17 rebounds while rookie Jio Jalalon finished with 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Peter June Simon added 10 markers for the Hotshots, who followed up an impressive 19-point win in their conference opener against Phoenix last Wednesday with another blowout win.
GlobalPort, meanwhile, will be disappointed as they were routed for a second straight game. They lost to Alaska by 28 points in their first game and crashed out by 26 in this one as they dropped to 0-2 in the standings.
Not even the return of Terrence Romeo from injury could save the Batang Pier in this one, though they did get solid showing from import Sean Williams, who had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Stanley Pringle, who finished with 19 markers and eight boards in the loss.
The Hotshots played some great team basketball in the first half. Despite Mitchell scoring only four points over the first two periods, the team still found itself in front by three points, 46-43, at the break.
None of the Hotshots reached double figures in scoring in a balanced offensive performance in the first half although Justin Melton hit three triples to come closest with nine points with Simon and Ian Sangalang not far behind with eight apiece.
But the dormant Mitchell made sure to come alive in the third quarter.
Though GlobalPort scored the first six points of the period to pull ahead, Star seized control right back after a 15-3 run spearheaded by Mitchell, who scored nine of those points, including back-to-back finishes that pushed the Hotshots’ lead into double-digits, 68-57.
Late in the period, Mitchell and Allein Maliksi made some booming three-pointers that pushed the lead to highs of 17 points before the quarter ended with Star ahead, 7865.
The red-hot Mitchell scored 16 of the Hotshots’ 32 points in quarter to raise his total up to 20 points through three quarter after his quiet first half. —