MANILA – Iloilo United Royals-Cocolife’s best game so far in the 2023 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) was not yet enough for them to notch their first victory of the season.
The United Royals battled back from 15 points down but still suffered a close 75-73 defeat to Go for Gold-San Juan Knights on Monday evening at the FilOil EcoOil Center in San Juan City.
Down 54-69 early in the fourth quarter following a basket by San Juan’s Pao Javillonar, Iloilo leaned on conversions from Omar Larupay, JR Ongteco and Lorenzo Navarro to cut it to 65-69.
A triple by Orlan Wamar and an inside hit by Michael Calisaan gave San Juan some breathing room at 74-67 but back-to-back triples from Iloilo’s Noah Korovesi and Conrad Catapusan cut the deficit to 73-74 with nine seconds left.
The United Royals then committed a foul on Wamar, who drilled his first freebie before intentionally missing the second to not give Iloilo a clear chance of basket attempt as the final buzzer sounded.
Adrian Nocum led the way for the debuting Knights with 13 points, with eight coming in the opening quarter, while Calisaan chipped in 10 markers before he was fouled out late in the game.
It was a seesaw game for both teams as the Knights were scorching in the first period for a 25-13 lead but the United Royals clawed its way back in the second quarter to tie the score at 35-all before San Juan scored six straight points to take a 41-35 halftime lead.
The Knights built a 44-35 lead in the third period via a three-point play by Wamar but Iloilo responded with conversions from Catapusan, Navarro and Aldeo Lucero as they took a 48-46 lead.
The Sen. Jinggoy Estrada-mentored Knights, however, leaned on the exploits of Fran Yu, Joseph Marquez and Javillonar as they cruised to their largest lead of 69-54 in the fourth period.
Catapusan made his Iloilo debut with double-double 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Ongteco added 13 markers. They suffered their fourth defeat in as many matches this season.
BOX SCORE:
SAN JUAN 75 – Nocum 13, Calisaan 10, Wamar 9, Marquez 8, Yu 8, Soberano 6, P. Javillonar 6, Panganiban 5, J. Javillonar 5, Ugsang 3, Ubalde 2, Benson 0, Javier 0, Taywan 0, Tajonera 0.
ILOILO 73 – Catapusan 24, Ongteco 13, Lucero 8, Navarro 8, J. Flores 7, Korovesi 6, Larupay 4, Tolentino 2, Basco 1, Madrigal 0, Guion 0, Javelosa 0, Sumido 0.
Quarterscores: 25-15, 41-35, 64-52, 75-73./PN
