RACAL Motors’ retooled roster served notice of its depth in a 118-100 romp over AMA On-line Education on Thursday in the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League Foundation Cup at the Ynares Arena in Pasig.
It was practically a mismatch with the Alibaba pulling away from the get go with new recruits Mark Tallo, Janus Lozada, and Rian Ayonayon inflicting the damage to an AMA team that had lost stars Jeron Teng and Juami Tiongson after last conference.
“I thought we’re a little deeper. But I can’t say if this team will be able to contend again for the championship. We’ll see as the tournament progress,” Racal coach Jerry Codinera said.
The game was tied at 8-all when the Alibaba went on a 28-8 run that included six three-pointers from Tallo and Lozada. By the end of the first quarter, Racal had a commanding 36-16 advantage and was never challenge the rest of the way.
“It’s a nice feeling to always win the first game. Hopefully, we can build on this,” said Codinera, who was particularly impressed of Tallo. “I hope he continues to do that.”
Tallo, a 6-0 guard out of Southwestern University, came off the bench and scored a team-high 20 points including four-of-10 shooting from three.
Lozada went 5-of-6 from behind the arc and finish with 17 off the bench. Jam Cortes finished with 15 points, Ken Salado had three points and five assists while Ayonayon chipped in 12 for the Alibaba, who led by as many as 31 points.
Arvin Bonleon turned in a game-high 30 points and Daniel Salonga added 20 off the bench but couldn’t help the Titans to turn the game around.