With 22 ticks left in the last canto and Jaguar down by a point, Jerome Ratunil took matter on his hands as he drove pass two defenders to score a deuce on a lay – up that gave his team the upperhand at less than ten seconds remaining in the ballgame. Guardians had the opportunity to win the match with designed play at the middle of the painted area did not materialize when the assigned shooter failed to connect. From there, Guardians ran out of time as the final buzzer sounded on them with a final count of 69 – 68, Jaguar winning the match. Ernie Bautista and Joy Domingo scored 16 and 12 points respectively for the Jaguar win, while Amarillo and Jojo Arevallo pitched in 12 and 17 on that order for Guardians loss.
In other matches that afternoon, Ilocandia – Bulls got an impressive performance from their big man Ronald Osias with 28 points supported by his two speedy guards, Hener Aguinaldo and Dennis Castro who contributed with identical 17 points to drub team Royal Cargo with a score of 99- 80. Surangel and Sons edged team AXE – Choppers, 92 – 89, with the help of Arnold Undencimo and Tramo who gave 24 and 34 markers respectively on Surangel’s win. On the last game, Rangers proved to be too powerful to their opponent when they crushed PDC – RAMS, 91 – 76, led by the scoring of Cuenco, Naguit, and Blaze at 27, 20, and 16 on that order.
Ten teams fight for this year’s crown; the defending champions from Western Union, second runner up Rangers, third runner up Surangel and Sons, fourth place Jaguar, HANPA – Cardinals, Ilocandia – Bulls, PRA – Choppers, RAMS, and two new teams completes the list of participating team such as the Guardians and Royal Cargo.
The Filipino Basketball League is supervised and organized by the Palau Basketball Federation.
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