MANILA – Marikina banked on a fluid offense, especially in the final three quarters to beat the Parañaque Patriots, 95-89, in their Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League battle on Tuesday night at the Sentro Pangkabataan in Calapan.
Marikina prevailed despite missing head coach Elvis Tolentino, who was suspended for the game following his actions on Felipe Chavez late into their loss to Pasig last week, which the league deemed as "conduct unbecoming of a professional basketball coach."
In Rysal Castro's de facto head coaching debut, the Shoemasters recovered from a slow first quarter and turned the jets in the third quarter to go ahead against the Patriots.
Marikina would hold off Parañaque's last ditch efforts in the fourth quarter.
Marwin Dionisio led the Shoemasters, who moved up to 8-10, with 26 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Adzhar Udjan added 19 points, nine rebounds and one steal.
Joe Gomez De Liano, not known for his perimeter game, put up 15 points on 3-of-6 three-point shooting, three rebounds, one steal and one block.
Jielo Razon led the Patriots, who dropped to 7-11, with 17 points, four rebounds, seven assists and three steals off the bench.
In the second game, GenSan snapped Batang Kankaloo's seven-game winning streak with a 95-90 victory.
GenSan survived a fourth quarter rally from Batang Kankaloo as its own winning streak continues at four.
Christian Fajarito led GenSan, now at 12-4, with 18 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, and one steal off the bench.
Jervy Cruz added 17 points, four rebounds and one assist.
Jeramer Cabanag led Batang Kankaloo, which fell to 12-5, with 25 points, three rebounds and seven assists.
The main game pitting Pasig and Oriental Mindoro is ongoing as of posting. (PNA)
