MANILA – Negros Muscovados survived a fourth quarter uprising by Imus Agimat VA Drones for a 75-68 victory in the 2024 MPBL Season on Tuesday night at the Caloocan Sports Complex.
Holding to a 67-52 advantage after a basket by Muscovados’ Jan Formento midway through the fourth period, Imus responded with a 10-3 scoring run to cut the deficit to 62-70 with over two minutes left in the game.
A split free throw by Buenaventura Jr Raflores and a basket by Mark Atabay gave Negros a 73-62 lead before Imus made their last push to cut the deficit to 66-73 with under a minute left.
Raflores finished with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds to be named Player of the Game as the Muscovados notched their second straight win for a 6-10 record.
“Slowly mas nakukuha ko na ‘yung rhythm ko, halos kababalik ko lang kasi sa basketball since pahinto hinto ‘yung paglalaro ko eh,” Raflores said in a post-game interview.
“This is just my third game with Negros and mas nakukuha ko naman na ‘yung system ni (Negros) coach Bonnie (Garcia), sinabihan niya ako na to concentrate sa rebounding ko and ‘yung scoring naman is darating din,” he added.
Negrense Jose Piero Longa backed up Raflores offensively with 13 points, including three three-point conversions, to go with one rebound, one assist, and a steal for the Muscovados.
Orin Catacutan finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, Nemesis dela Cruz chipped in 20 markers, while Jameson Hiro contributed 10 markers as Imus remained winless in 16 matches.
The Muscovados will attempt for their third consecutive victory against Rizal XentroMall Golden Coolers at six in the evening on July 8 at the Olivarez College Gymnasium in Paranaque City./PN
BOX SCORE:
NEGROS 75 – Longa 13, Raflores 13, Cruz 8, Palma 8, Villanueva 7, Atabay 7, Peralta 7, Formento 6, Lorenzo 2, Geolingo 2, Gabriel 2, Gania 0, Chavez 0, Alcaide 0, Reyes 0.
IMUS 68 – Catacutan 22, Dela Cruz 20, Hiro 10, De Chavez 8, Popovic 5, Gimpayan 3, Gonzaga 0, Davis 0, Paraiso 0, Enriquez 0, Nicodemus 0, Camacho 0, Rosales 0, Malimban 0, Velasco 0.
Quarterscores: 15-11, 37-24, 59-45, 75-68.
