BASILAN-Jumbo Plastic Medical Depot dodged the upset axe wielded by Laguna Krah Asia yesterday.
Averting what could have been a huge meltdown, Basilan outlasted the hard-fighting Krah Heroes 98-95 in double overtime for its third straight win in Group B of the Chooks-to-Go MPBL Invitational powered by TM at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Jay Collado scored on a putback off a Michael Juico miss that gave Basilan the lead for good 96-95, only 11.9 seconds in the second extension.
In other games, Mindoro-EOG Burlington blasted also-ran Gen San 87-73 to keep its quarterfinals hopes alive in Group D, while Bacoor City nipped Negros 87-86 to end its campaign on a high note in Group A.
The 6-foot-4 Collado shone for Basilan with a team-high 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Anthony Bringas chipped in 14 markers and eight boards as Basilan scored a fitting follow-up to its 98-83 victory over Marikina Shoe City last Dec. 16 and remained unbeaten with a 3-0 card.
Laguna finished its campaign winless and failed to bounce back from its 86-92 loss to Makati FSD last Dec. 17.
Juico also had 14 and seven, while Encho Serrano and Jaymar Gimpayan combined for 23 points for Basilan, which will battle the Blazers for the last quarterfinals berth in their pool today.
Basilan coach Jerson Cabiltes insisted the game’s outcome just showed the tight battle in the P2 million, FIBA-style tourney.
“Iyong game na ito just exposed na there’s no underdog teams here, there are no pushover teams,” Cabiltes said.
“Laguna has yet to win in the tournament, but they gave us a good fight. It just signifies na lahat ng teams dito sa MPBL right now are strong,” he added.
Basilan took a 39-33 lead at the half and 61-53 going into the payoff period.
A Kim Aurin layup pegged a 76-74 count in the last 1:13, but Philip Manalang tied it with a floater with 8.1 to go.
Laguna held an 89-84 cushion on an MJ Dela Virgen three-pointer with 1:17 left in the first overtime, but Juico pulled Basilan to within 86-89 with a basket, 1:07 remaining.
Basilan forced another extension on three pressure-packed free throws by Jonathan Uyloan with .3 left.
Christian Fajarito paced the Krah Heroes with 23 points, while Edgar Charcos, Aurin, Dela Virgen, and Jonathan Rivera had 15, 15, 11, and 10, respectively.
Allen Liwag led the Tamaraws with a double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Jeramer Cabanag had 16 markers, two caroms, and four dimes.
The triumph, which came on the heels of Mindoro EOG-Burlington’s 86-83 decision over EMKAI-Rizal Xentro Mall last Dec. 18, hiked the Tamaraws’ slate to 4-1, ahead of Imus (3-1) and Manila (3-1).
A loss of either Imus or Manila today will clinch for Mindoro EOG-Burlington a slot in the quarters.
In case of a three-way tie, the Tamaraws will drop to third in the pool and miss the playoffs.
