MANILA – Zamboanga Family Brand Sardines turned things around in the fourth quarter to beat Bacolod BingoPlus, 71-65, in Game 1 of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Southern Division semifinals on Tuesday in Zamboanga City.
Trailing for most part of the game and down 44-50 after three quarters, Zamboanga opened the fourth quarter strong behind Jaycee Marcelino and Chito Jaime to seize the lead at 58-54.
Bacolod responded with two free throws from Jhan Nermal and a triple from Jeramer Cabanag to take the lead for the last time at 59-68 before Marcelino unloaded consecutive points for a 63-59 advantage.
Bacolod were still hanging around at 63-65 on a jumper by Mark Yee and Raymund Ilagan but Zamboanga got back-to-back hits from Marcelino followed by baskets from Jhapz Bautista and Jayvee Marcelino to seal the win.
Jaycee finished the match with double-double 21 points and 13 rebounds to go with four assists as Zamboanga City took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Southern Division semifinals series.
Bautista waxed hot with five early points before settling for 10 markers, while Jayvee also ended up with 10 markers for Zamboanga City, which can wrap up the series on Saturday in Batangas City.
Zamboanga City actually started strong in the contest with a 7-2 lead behind Bautista and Jayvee but Bacolod City went on a massive run behind Alwyn Alday and Ilagan to take a 19-11 lead.
The Bacolodnons continued to dominate in the second quarter as the lead reached 11 points behind baskets from Jeramer Cabanag and Jayboy Solis. Zamboanga City cut it to 25-27 but conversions by Yee widened Bacolod’s lead to 33-25 at the half.
Bacolod extended their run in the third quarter with consecutive shots from Cabanag as the lead reached its largest at 40-28 but Zamboanga City slowly clawed its way back to trim it to 44-50 heading into the final quarter.
Cabanag top-scored for Bacolod BingoPlus with 14 points, mostly came in the second half, Alday contributed 12 markers, with 10 coming in the first two quarters, while Yee ended with 10 points.
BOX SCORE:
ZAMBOANGA 71 – JC Marcelino 21, Bautista 10, JV Marcelino 10, Comia 6, Mosqueda 6, Eguilos 4, Mahari 3, Jaime 3, Palencia 2, Tansingco 2, Grimaldo 2, Santos 2, Dumapig 0.
BACOLOD 65 – Cabanag 14, Alday 12, Yee 10, Ilagan 9, Solis 5, Nermal 5, Lee Yu 4, Villoria 4, Jeruta 2, Pastias 0.
Quarterscores: 11-19, 25-33, 44-50, 71-65./PN
