THE Police Regional Office (PRO) escaped past Special Action Force (SAF), 89-76, in the resumption of the AFP-PNP basketball tournament held at Almendras Gym Davao City Recreation Center Tuesday, November 15.
PRO trailed at the start following a series of miscues, costly errors and crucial turnovers. But they recovered at the third canto behind back-to-back triples of Police Officer 3 Francis Ray Jago and Senior Police Officer 1 Romel Cameros.
Police Officer 3 Angelito Moral, Police Chief Inspector Sabazal and Police Officer 3 Lester Normandia also stepped up for a joint 20 output.
From there, PRO maintained a solid lead en-route to the victory.
Cameros, Moral, Police Officer 3 Lester Normadia and Police Officer 2 Decerio Relacion made identical 10 points while Jago and Police Officer 1 Robert Abao added eight points each for PRO that improved to a 7-1 record card.
SAF, however, slumped to 3-4.
Head coach Senior Police Officer 2 Alexis Torres, in an interview with SunStar Davao, said the win served as a redemption from their first loss against the 10th Infantry Division, adding they are rooting to beat the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) in their next game to gain the twice-to- beat advantage in the semifinals.
He added they had trouble during the first two periods since his team came from a long vacation.
“The players are still adjusting with the new system,” he said.
He, however, appreciated the great effort of the team for securing the win.
Police Officer 2 Jonathan Bongay added six points as Police Chief Inspector Jomar Dela Cerna who sank one basket but made exceptional effort on the defensive end.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Fire Protection was playing against DCPO as of Tuesday, November 15, presstime.