South Hill Royals escaped a close call while ET Homes and DECA 8990 enjoyed easier victories in Pool 2 of Next5 Hoops Metro Manila South Leg opener last Sunday at Lucky Gym in Parañaque.
South Hill Royals held on to defeat the Chargers, 72-70, after taking the lead back in the last three minutes of the see-saw affair.
The lead went back and forth between the two teams until free throws from Brian Daguplo and Dion Reverente put South Hill Royals in the driver’s seat for good down the stretch.
Reverente led all scorers with 20 points that went with 12 boards and four steals while JP Redelick and Vicson Pajimola added 17 and 10 markers, respectively.
Jan Asido finished with 18 markers for Chargers, including a clutch triple that gave the team a jolt of hope, trimming the lead with one with just three ticks remaining.
Asido got solid help from John Philip Galabin, who had 14 points, and Ken Oscar, who had 10, despite the loss.
Meanwhile, DECA 8990 overpowered Aviso, 85-62, with six players finishing in double digits for the team.
Daniel Flores churned out 20 points on five-of-nine shooting from 3, Jose Navarro added 13 including eight assists, Mark Madera had 12 points and 15 boards, Eric Panganiban and Jarics Lopez added 11 apiece while Mark Orias finished with 10 markers.
It was total domination from DECA 8990, whose lead never went lower than 20 points after a triple from Navarro with over eight minutes left in the third quarter. It got to as big as 33.
Undermanned ET Homes made good use of its staff to frustrate Don Bosco Makati 2009, 84-70, in the other game in Pool 1.
Despite fielding just seven players compared to Don Bosco’s 16, ET Homes still got the job done thanks to the monster 32-point, 10-rebound showing from Roger Domingo.
ET Homes also banked on its hot shooting to neutralize Don Bosco Makati’s advantage in the paint, raining 13 treys—nine of which coming from Domingo, who only played for 23 minutes off the bench.
It was all ET Homes for most of the game, leading by 21 in the payoff period.
Don Bosco, which had a field day downlow with 42 points but couldn’t connect from beyond the arc with only three treys, last led with over two minutes left in the opening period but got left behind from there.
Mauro Lumba led the Bosconians with 24 points and 11 rebounds while John Estabillo added 10.
