By Kyle Terwilliger
Variety News Staff

The Philippine Amateur Basketball League saw their race for second place remain at a stalemate as all three second place teams won on Sunday at St. John’s Gym.
The day would begin with (3 – 1) Argent Estates Realty taking on the winless (0 – 4) Andersen Samurai Bombers. The Bombers would come into the game with the lowest points per game and their scoring troubles would follow them into this game as well. The Bombers would be led by guard Mike Allen and forward Rudy Lyle with 18 and 11 points respectively but they would fall for the fifth time this year as they put up only 47 points against Argent Estates Realty.
Argent Estates would be led by DeAndre Walker and Joe Blas who scored a combined 40 of the 60 points Argent Estates put up.
With the loss the Samurai Bombers drop to a disappointing 0-5 on the season, which is tied for the worst record in the league.
Argent Estates Realty would move to 4-1 on the season with the win putting the pressure on the Ace Hardware Aces to keep up for second place. In the second game the Ace Hardware Aces would bring their 86 points per game average up against the 0-4 National Office Supply. The game would quickly show how outmatched the National Office Supply team was as the Aces’ JP Cruz and Fred Peters dominated both the inside and outside.
Cruz would put up 23 points along with Peters’ 19 the Aces would roll past National Office Supply 88-67. National Office Supply were led by Justin Andre with 16 points and Jeff Manalastas with 14 points but it would not be enough as they fell to 0-5.
With the win the Aces’ moved to 4-1 and passed the pressure on to the Guam Greyhound National team to keep up with the two second place teams.
The WPABL would see action next giving the PABL time to rest as the ladies showed their stuff. The Andersen Lady Bombers would take on Josie’s Jazyrs.
The Lady Bombers were coming off a heartbreaking loss in their opening game to the Ace Hardware Nationals last week. The Bombers were able to bounce back behind the scoring of Mile Odonnal and Tiffany Spradlin who scored 13 and 12 points respectively as the Lady Bombers defeated the Jazyrs 47 – 38. The Jazyrs would be led by Tara Mallari and Jocelyn Padilla who scored 12 points a piece.
After the ladies were done the men were back in action as the Guam Greyhound Nationals took on the Livehouse Lancers.
The Nationals would look to keep pace with both the Aces’ and Argent Estates for second place and would be successful as they defeated the Lancers 8-61.
The Lancers would be led by Bryan Jackson with 21 points and Deron Jordan who scored 13 but they were not able to stop the Nationals as Willie Stinnett scored the game high 25 points in the win. The Nationals would also get outstanding play from Seve Susuico who had 13 points and dominated the inside.
In the last game MWR Big Navy would take on the Budweiser Kings. The Kings would come into the day looking to keep pace and improve their 3-1 record to stay in second place but were not able to do so as they fell in a tight game losing 79-76. Big Navy would take the victory behind the scoring tandem of Josiah Jones and Gregory Clark who scored 49 of their teams 79 points with Jones having 26 and Clark scoring 23.
The Kings’ Manny Borja would have a valiant effort scoring the day’s high point total at 34 points but the Kings would fall into a tie with Big Navy for fifth behind the three way tie at second.
The PABL will continue next Sunday with as the undefeated Sign By Dey Chargers take on the 4-1 Guam Greyhound Nationals.
The evening game will see the Samurai Bombers taking on National Office Supply in a battle to see who will get their first win of the season and maybe begin a turnaround for their team. The WPABL will also be in action as two second place teams’ battle for sole possession as the Lady Bombers take on the Budlight Stars.