Manila, Davao Occidental strike anew

AICC Manila and Davao Occidental Tigers-cocolife continued their winning ways to keep their hold of the top spot in the Filbasket Subic Championship at the Subic gym on Saturday.

AICC Manila outclassed the Nueva Ecija Besprens, 94-82, while the Davao Occidental Tigers escaped past 7A Primus, 86-83.

The victories improved AICC Manila and Davao Occidental to 5-1 win-loss marks.

Michael Juico and Ronjay Buenafe scored 19 points each, while Michael Mabulac added 11 points, nine boards and four assists as AICC Manila controlled the tempo for most parts of the game.

They also distributed the ball well by dishing off 26 assists.

Renz Palma, Jerick Nacpil and James Martinez combined for 59 points for Nueva Ecija, who fell to 3-3.

Billy Ray Robles fired a turnaround jump shot in the last six minutes to untangle Davao Occidental from a 69-all count that set the tone throughout.

Diego Dario attempted a buzzerbeating triple to send the game into overtime but missed.

Robby Celiz finished with 21 points and six boards, Emmanuel Calo chipped in 12 points, and Gab Dagangon contributed 11 points for Davao Occidental, who outshone the 27-point output of Dario for 7A Primus.

7A Primus absorbed its fourth defeat against two wins.

Later in the day, Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors scuttled Burlington EOG Sports, 72-58, for their second win in five matches.

Cedrick Ablaza scored 18 points and seven rebounds while Jeckster Apinan had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Realtors.

Burlington slipped to 3-3 with Byron Villarias becoming the lone double-digit scorer with 10 points.