Friday, May 04, 2007 Ex-Slasher leads Pagadian five in NBC By Henry C. Villalva
FORMER Negros Slashers point guard Maui Huelar combined with ex-PBA pro Mike Orquillas and the backcourt tandem teamed-up with John Villaver to propel the fiery comeback of the Pagadian City Explorers against the Ozamis Cotta Shrine five of Mayor Reynaldo Paroginog in last Monday's matchup of the National Basketball Conference (NBC) National Cup series in Ozamis City.
The Explorers actually sizzled in the payoff period to topple the grand slam champion Ozamis quintet, 77-74. Huelar, a mainstay of the Negros Slashers in the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), finished with just 4 points but dished out 8 assists and made two crucial steals in the third to ignite the win.
Huelar and former Negros Slashers teammate Leo Bat-og are among the former MBA stalwarts now seeing action for various teams in the NBC.
Meanwhile, over in Lucena City, Quezon Villa Anita snapped a five-game losing streak by beating Montaña Pawnshop-Davao, 80-69.
It was the fifth win in eight outings for the Explorers but only the second for Quezon.
Ex-pros Henry Fernandez and Tonyboy Espinosa finished with 15 and 13 points, respectively for Monataña while Bryan Gahol led Quezon with 14 and got able support from ex-MBA stars Jeff Sanders and Danny Capobres to preserv Quezon's victory.
Orquillas and Villaver paced Pagadian with 13 apiece while Negrense Marlon Bascon teamed-up with Cebuano Bruce Dacia to lead Ozamis with 18 and 13, respectively.
Iligan is currently on top of the nine-team standings with a clean 5-0 win-loss slate while Toyota-Iloilo, which has several former West Negros College Mustangs in its lineup, are occupying the cellar of the standings with a 1-5, win-loss card.
Manny Pacquiao's GenSan squad, mentored by Bacoleño Jesus Ramon Pido, totes a 2-4 record good for fifth.
