By ADRIAN STEWART CO
MANILA – Bacolod BingoPlus leaned on a strong second half push to defeat Sarangani Marlins OkBet, 89-74, in the 2022 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Season on Saturday night at the Sarangani Capitol Gym.
After being down 54-45 midway in the third quarter, Bacolod went on a massive run behind Jeramer Cabanag, Joel Lee Yu, Kraniel Villoria and Aaron Jeruta to tie the score at 63-all.
Bacolod continued its run at the onset of the fourth quarter with conversions from Yee and Villoria for a 69-65 lead but Sarangani answered with an inside hit from Gabby Espinas and a triple from Kyt Jimenez to take a 70-69 lead.
Bacolod regained the lead anew at 74-70 with connections by Raymund Ilagan and Alwyn Alday before Sarangani came closest for the last time at 72-74 on two free throws by Yvan Ludovice.
Bacolod created separation anew at 79-72 with a free throw and a basket by Yee and a jumper by Jhan Nermal before Espinas clawed Sarangani to within 79-74 with under two minutes left.
The Bacolodnons went for the killer run after that as a triple by Yee, back-to-back inside hits by Ilagan and Villoria and another conversion by Yee for their largest lead of 15 points with under a minute remaining in the contest.
Yee finished the game with double-double 20 points and 16 rebounds while also draining all his eight free throw attempts as the Bacolod rises to 12-7 win-loss slate with its third consecutive win.
Alday chipped in 15 markers despite hitting only one of its six three-point attempts, while Villoria had his second consecutive solid game with 13 points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists.
Paul Sanga led the way with 11 points, including two treys, while Ludovice, Espinas and Enrique Caunan added 10 markers apiece as the Marlins dropped to 11-5 win-loss record.
After playing four games in a week in Mindanao, the Bacolod BingoPlus will have a lengthy break before returning to action on September 17 against Bacoor Strikers at the STRIKE Gym in Cavite.
BOX SCORE:
BACOLOD 89 – Yee 20, Alday 15, Villoria 13, Nermal 9, Lee Yu 8, Ilagan 8, Cabanag 7, Jeruta 5, Solis 4, Dionson 0, Tulipas 0.
SARANGANI 74 – Sanga 11, Ludovice 10, Caunan 10, Espinas 10, Jimenez 9, Basibas 6, Marilao 4, Sta. Ana 4, Gumaru 3, Acosta 3, Gabriel 2, Peromingan 2, Jamora 0.
Quarterscores: 20-17, 39-39, 63-63, 89-74./PN
