Road Warriors stay unbeaten, dim Rising Suns
Cruz, Gonzales cop Palawan net crowns
NLEX used a strong first quarter attack to stop a surging Cagayan Valley side, 83-74, and extend its win streak to five in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the JCSGO gym in Cubao, Quezon City yesterday.
Garvo Lanete and Kevin Alas combined for all but six of NLEX’s 29 points in the first 10 minutes as the Road Warriors took an 11-point lead, slowed down in the second quarter but dominated the second half to halt the Rising Suns’ twogame run and remain as the only unbeaten team in the season-ending conference.
Lanete finished with 22 points while Alas added 14 markers to power the five-time champion Road Warriors to their second straight victory under interim coach Mon Celis.
“We started out well but the boys relaxed a bit in the second period. We were outhustled. That’s why they got a dressing down at the halftime break and poured it all out in the second half,” said Celis.
In other games, Blackwater Sports turned to Allan Mangahas and Mark Cruz in the fourth quarter to repulse Derulo Accelero, 96-93, while Jumbo Plastic turned back Hog’s Breath Café, 73-63.
Mangahas and Cruz combined for 20 points in the last 10 minutes as the Elite bucked a slow start to post their second straight win after a 0-2 start. Mangahas wound up with 18 points while Cruz had 14 markers.
Blackwater Sports played catchup in the third period and trailed by as many as 10 points but regrouped in time to avoid absorbing embarrassing loss from the winless Oilers, who dropped to 0-5.
The Elite used a 12-0 run to turn a 77-68 deficit into an 80-77 lead. A four-point play by Cruz off a foul by Jiovanni Jalalon made it, 89-83, for Blackwater with 2:12 remaining.
Monica Therese Cruz enhanced her promising tennis career by racking up two titles while Valle Verde’s Cenon Gonzales Jr. copped the boys’ 16-and-under crown in the Palawan PawnshopPalawan Express Pera Padala regional age-group tennis circuit presented by Technifibre at the Brookside Hills Tennis Club in Cainta, Rizal recently.
Cruz, a 13-year-old rising star from Naga City, shocked top seed Chloe Mae Saraza twice, scoring a 6-3, 6-1, to pocket the girls’ 16-and-U title and pulling off a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win in the 14-and-U finals of the week-long event hosted by Cainta Mayor Kit Nieto and sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop.
The 14-year-old Gonzales, on the other hand, bested Chris Prulla, 6-4, 6-2, to lead the winners in the boys’ side of the event which drew over 200 junior players and supported by the Cainta’s LGUs and sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association headed by Philta president and Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez.
Top seed Marcen Gonzales took the 18-and-U diadem with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Andrew Joshua Cano; second seed Manuel Balce III upended No. 1 Marcus del Rosario, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, for the 14-and-U crown; Aljon Talatayod surprised top seed Nio Tria, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, for the 12-and-U title; while Macie Carlos copped the 10-unisex title with a 6-2, 6-3 romp over Kryshana Brazal.
Top seed Chrislyn Coleen Sioson played true to form and trounced Nicole Amistad, 6-4, 6-2, to nail the premier girls’ 18-and-U crown, so did No. 1 Miles Vitaliano, who blasted Denise Bernardo, 6-3, 6-1, to secure the 12-and-U crown.
“The reversals and a slew of three-set finals matches further underscored the level playing field with Cruz’s twin victories expected to inspire the young players to strive more,” said Olivarez, who also took notice of Palawan Pawnshop’s continuing commitment to help develop the sport and provide a venue for the country’s leading and rising junior players.
“Palawan Pawnshop will continue providing our youth top-notch tournaments like this,” said Palawan Pawnshop COO Bobby Castro. “This tournament will surely inspire our young players to achieve a higher level of play.”