BICOL-LCC Stores weathered a late rally to nip General Santos, 65-63, and secure a playoff spot in the 2019-20 Chooks-to-Go/Lakan Cup at the Angeles University Foundation Gymnasium on Saturday, February 1, 2020.
The Volcanoes ended the elimination round campaign with a 16-14 record, currently placed eighth in the South Division. But due to their head-to-head wins against playoff hopefuls Cebu and Batangas, Bicol has claimed the second to the last postseason slot in the South.
Down by 16 big points in the fourth quarter, Pamboy Raymundo pumped in 14 points in a surging 18-4 rally to trim Bicol's lead to just two points, 63-65, with 1:22 left in the game.
After two missed opportunities from Alwyn Alday and Jerome Garcia, GenSan's Robby Celiz and Jeramer Cabanag both had chances to tie and win the game but badly missed.
Alday paced Bicol with 13 points while Chris Lalata had 11 points and five rebounds. Jonathan Aldave added 10 points, four rebounds, and three steals.
Despite scoring only five points on a disappointing 1-of-6 shooting from the field, Ronjay Buenafe collected five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocked shots.
Raymundo tallied 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals for GenSan, who now slipped to the fifth spot also in the same division with a 16-11 record.
The Scores:
Bicol-LCC Stores (65) -- Alday 13, Lalata 11, Aldave 10, Guerrero 9, Garcia 9, Buenafe 5, Mondragon 4, Alfonso 2, Ontengco 1, Gusi 1, Lao 0
General Santos-Burlington (63) -- Raymundo 18, Mahaling 8, Celiz 8, Bautista 7, Basco 6, Masaglang 5, Goloran 5, Orbeta 2, Carlos 0, Baltazar 0, Grospe 0, Cinco 0, Landicho 0
Quarterscores: 14-11, 31-21, 52-40, 65-63