MPBL: Navotas, Batangas win
Games Tomorrow (Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium) 7 p.m. – Quezon City vs Bataan 9 p.m. – Imus vs Bulacan
With Yves Sazon taking charge down the stretch, Navotas Clutch upstaged Muntinlupa Cagers, 82-76, infront of their hometown crowd on Saturday night in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Anta Rajah Cup.
Sazon had a brilliant offensive performance with 24 points and provided the spark in their steady finish to help the Clutch foil the Cagers inside their own floor at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex and gain a share of the early lead.
Also making a triumphant debut was Batangas-Tanduay Athletics, who foiled Valenzuela Classic, 73-65, behind a strong performance in the first half.
Former pros Val Acuña and Lester Alvarez led their offensive charge with a combined 32-point production, spiked by six triples, while big man Jaymo Eguilos anchored the lane with nine points and 12 boards for the Athletics who built a big 38-19 at the break then did enough to hold off the Classic’s fightback in the second half.
Not to be outdone were the Clutch, who showed enough poise in the face of the Cagers’ rally ignited by veteran guard Egay Billones who drilled in a triple that pulled them to within 74-76 with under two minutes left.
Sazon restored order by hitting a timely jumper then Rey Publico came up with his own bucket, helping Navotas restore its lead back to six and silence the partisan crowd, time down to just 63 seconds.
Center Pari Llagas tried to keep the hosts within striking distance with a bucket but that proved to be the Cagers’ final stand as they came up dry on their next possessions while Publico sealed the deal with a pair of freebies.
Llagas came off the bench and finished with a team-high 13 points while Billones, Bernzon Franco and former pro Chito Jaime added at least 10 points that all went down the drain with the Cagers’ loss.