Rannie Guerrero fired from behind the arc and added two more points to set the lead in the first quarter.
With Aaron Engerhart and Ritual surging in the second quarter, the Torch Bearers managed to close-in before the half time break, cutting the lead down to one point.
Dan Teregeyo and Matagolai combined 14 of the Rollers’ points in the third quarter to stretch the lead again. Teregeyo and Guerrero tallied 11 points apiece.
Then, Ham Hambro dominated the offensive rebound while Zack Tudela completed a series of fast break, and the Rollers never looked back.
GEC 81, Managaha 68
Mateo and Ocampo’s combination went dynamic in the second period as they gave the GEC the upper hand all the way to the buzzer to win the second opening game, 81-68.
Mateo sizzled with eight of his 28 points in the second quarter but Managaha’s Vergara Launico managed to tie the game at the end of the first quarter.
Ocampo scored 11 of his 24 points and bolstered GEC to pull away with 10 points towards the half break.
The GEC cagers maintained their momentum in the third quarter with Mateo and Ocampo keeping their scoring surge.
GEC never trailed and came all the way to defeat Managaha with 13 points.
Scores:
Rollers 81 – M. Matagolai 20, Z. Tudela 14, R. Guerrero 11, D. Teregeyo 11, H. Hambro 10, F. Litulumar 9, L. Guerrero 2.
Torch Bearers 66 – Ritual 19, J. Xiang 11, L. Liang 10, A. Engerhart 8, R. Francia 8, R. Desquito 2.
Quarterscores: 15-11, 32-31, 57-52, 81-66
GEC 81 – Mateo 28, Ocampo 24, Vargas 8, Yalung 8, Francisco 7, Dizon 2.
Managaha 68 – Vergara 16, Sharry 10, Fasi 8, Banzagale 7, Bernardo 6, Miguel 6, Samson 5, Saito 4, Launico 4.
Quarterscores: 16-16, 37-27, 55-46, 81-68
