THE Davao Occidental Tigers ran roughshod over the Basilan BRT, 74-55, to take Game One of the bests-of-three semifinals in the Pilipinas Super League Pearl of the Orient Cup presented by Cocolife and backed by Smart 5G on Tuesday night, April 19, at the Manuel Roxas Sports Complex.
The Tigers leaned on a massive 16-2 run in the third canto to turn what was a close game into a lopsided match. Up by just five at halftime, 32-27, Davao Occidental turned their game up another notch, going on that telling run to establish a 48-29 lead with 6:13 left in the third.
The lead ballooned to a high of 27, 60-33, but Basilan made a game out of it with a 20-2 run to trim the deficit to just nine, 53-62, with 5:02 remaining in the game. The Tigers, though, had too much firepower as Emman Calo swished a triple while veteran forward Larry Rodriguez canned a deuce to restore their lead to 14 with just 3:25 left.
Calo led Davao Occidental with 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks.
Rodriguez added 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Nobody scored in double-figures for Basilan, with Med Salim being the high-point-man with nine points to go with nine boards.
Davao Occidental guns for the sweep and a seat in the Finals in Game Two on Wednesday.
THE SCORES
Davao Occidental (74) Calo 17, Rodriguez 14, Agovida 11, Dagangon 8, Grimaldo 7, Wilson 6, Adormeo 6, Goloran 3, Palencia 2, Custodio 0, Terso 0, Anib 0
Basilan (55) Salim 9, Melano 8, Pangilinan 7, Mag-Isa 6, Pascual 5, Sazon 5, Koga 5, Abanto 4, Octubre 3, Neri 3, Torres 0, Santos 0, Orense 0, Hanapi 0, Bayquin 0
Quarterscores: 19-11, 32-27, 60-37, 74-55
(JNP)