MANILA – Negrense Mark Yee achieved a personal milestone in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League as Bacolod BingoPlus finally returned to their winning ways in the ongoing 2022 season.
The Sagay City, Negros Occidental native became the first-ever MPBL player to record 1,000 rebounds as BingoPlus cruised to a 94-68 domination over Mindoro Tamaraws on Tuesday night at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.
Yee, who also had stints with the defunct Cocolife-Davao Occidental Tigers in the MPBL, hauled 13 rebounds to go with his 12 points as the BingoPlus notched its sixth win in 10 games this season.
Bacolodnon John Lemuel Pastias led the way with conference-high 14 points, while Alwyn Alday chipped in 10 points and 5 rebounds for the Bacolod team of head coach Alexander Angeles.
Hurting from three straight tight defeats, including two at home, the Bacolodnons vented their ire on the hapless Tamaraws and led by as many as 29 points at 92-63 in the fourth quarter.
With Yee asserting his might inside the paint offensively and defensively, Bacolod edged Mindoro in rebounding, 61-41, and subsequently outscored the Tamaraws inside the paint, 58-24. Bacolod also edged Mindoro in the assists department, 26-12.
“This is a welcome win for us after losing our last three matches and after almost two weeks of break,” said Bacolod team manager Leo Bat-Og. “Coach Alex is now confident about the performance of his boys and showed that they can compete with top tier teams.”
Khen Osicos had a near double-double numbers of 17 points and nine rebounds, Drake Santos chipped in 16 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Oliver Santos contributed 13 for the Tamaraws.
The Tamaraws suffered its sixth consecutive defeat and tumbled to 1-11, formally dropping out of the race for quarterfinal slots along with fellow cellar-dweller Makati Kingpins.
The Bacolod BingoPlus will aim for its second consecutive victory as they battle Pasig City at seven in the evening on Saturday, Aug. 6, at the same Pampanga venue.
BOX SCORE:
BACOLOD 94 – Pastias 14, Yee 13, Alday 10, Lao 9, Solis 9, Maloles 9, Albo 6, Cabanag 5, Dionson 5, Nermal 4, Villoria 4, Dela Cruz 3, Lee Yu 2, Ilagan 2, Jeruta 0.
MINDORO 68 – Osicos 17, D. Santos 16, O. Santos 13, Espiritu 9, Teodoro 7, Vaygan 3, Romero 2, Tagunicar 1, Ajero 0, Palma 0.
Quarterscores: 23-12, 48-30, 67-56, 94-68./PN
