Davao Occidental tightens grip on MPBL South lead after rout of Makati

DAVAO Occidental cruised to its fifth straight victory after annihilating Makati-Super Crunch, 79-54, in the 2019-20 Chooksto-Go/MPBL Lakan Cup at the San Andres Sports Complex on Tuesday. The Tigers used a scorching 29-point second quarter to take completel control of the match, leading by as big as 18 points, 46-28, entering the second half. Davao Occidental put up their biggest lead of the game at 27 after a pair of free throws from Jerwin Gaco to open the fourth quarter. The Tigers never looked back from there on the way to their 21st victory of the season. “I’m surprised we played this well. Coming into this game, our main focus was … we had a long break, we usually don’t play well from a long break and we practiced well but I told the guys to focus on team basketball,” said Davao head coach Don Dulay. Kenneth Mocon and Yvan Ludovice led a balanced offensive attack with 13 points each for Davao Occidental, which mproved to 21-3 to strengthen their hold of first place in the Southern Division. Billy Robles had 10 points, five rebounds, and three blocked shots while Chester Saldua, James Forrester, and Marco Balagtas finished with seven markers each. Makati – which played its first game under head coach Rhuel Acot – was led by Jong Baloria and Joseph Sedurifa with 17 and 13 points, respectively. It lost a second consecutive game for a 20-6 record, good for third spot in the Northern Division. The scores: Davao Occidental (79) – Mocon 13, Ludovice 13, Robles 10, Saldua 7, Forrester 7, Balagtas 7, Bonleon 5, Raymundo 4, Gaco 4, Yee 3, Calo 3, Albo 3, Makati – (54) – Baloria 17, Sedurifa 13, Torralba 7, Ablaza 5, Importante 4, Manlangit 3, Villanueva 3, Apinan 2, Cruz 0 Quarterscores: 17-10, 46-28, 73-48, 79-54 spin.ph