MANILA – Jeric Teng regained his old form as Pasig Realtors barged into the win column of the 2019-2020 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Lakan Cup with an 89-87 escape over Caloocan Supremos on Wednesday at the Valenzuela Astrodome.
The former University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers star waxed hot with 24 points on top of seven rebounds, five assists, and two blocks as the Realtors improved to 1-1 win-loss slate.
Former PBA cager Josan Nimes and Jeric Serrano flanked with 16 and 15 markers, respectively, to hand Realtors head coach Bong dela Cruz his first victory in the league.
“I told my team, malaki ang responsibilidad natin because we have to change the image of the previous Pasig team. We want to see a different Pasig team this season, one which would restore the pride of the city,” said Realtors executive Buddy Encarnado.
The Realtors had a strong start behind early hits from Teng to take a 45-32 advantage before thwarting the late run of the Supremos with Nimes and Serrano taking over in the endgame.
Almond Vosotros showed the way for the Supremos, still winless in three games, with 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals, while Alfred Mandani, Damian Lasco and John Carlos Escalambre had 10 markers each.
Meanwhile, Basilan Steel sustained its strong start to the season with an 83-74 victory versus Pampanga Lanterns. Jerald Bautista topped the scoring column with 18 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists for the 3-0 Steel.
Valenzuela Classic leaned on the exploits of Reneford Ruaya, Paolo Hubalde and Chris de Chavez in the overtime period to score a come-from-behind 92-86 win over Bataan Risers./PN
