MANILA – Mindanao All-Stars scored a huge upset in the Mindanao leg of the 2018 PBA All-Stars, beating Gilas Pilipinas 144-130 at the Davao del Sur Coliseum in Digos City, Davao del Sur.
All-Star Game MVP Baser Amer led Mindanao with 22 points as Andy Mark Barroca added 20 and Peter June Simon and Carlo Lastimosa contributing 17 and 16, respectively.
This was the first time a PBA All-Star team defeated the national squad since 2009 when a combined North and South All-Stars defeated Powerade-Team Pilipinas 97-89.
The Wednesday night match was tightly contested in the first three quarters. Mindanao was ahead 104-99 and then unloaded a huge 20-4 scoring run early in the fourth quarter on triples by Lastimosa and Amer.
Mindanao went on to build its largest lead in the match 124-103 on a triple by Joachim Thoss and a fast-break layup by Jio Jalalon before Gilas tried to make its last push courtesy of June Mar Fajardo.
Fajardo finished with double-double 34 points and 15 rebounds while Japeth Aguilar added 25 markers for Gilas, which was decimated to nine players with the absence of Roger Pogoy and Jeth Troy Rosario.
Meanwhile Terrence Romeo put another feather on his PBA All-Star cap – he and presidential son-in-law Atty. Manases Carpio ruled the Legends 3-Point Shootout.
The Romeo-Carpio duo produced 33 points to beat the pairs of Kenneth Duremdes and General Santos City Rep. Bobby Pacquiao (27), Allan Caidic and Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go (22), and Scottie Thompson and Major Michael Sabsal (18)./PN
