In the battle of undefeated squads, Jumbo Plastic-Basilan was the last one standing.
The dominant Peace Riders spoiled Clarin’s hopes of sweeping the elimination round, 86-68, in the 2021 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup on Monday at the Pagadian City Gymnasium in Zamboanga del Sur.
Jay Collado carried Basilan’s offensive charge, firing 15 points and hauling five rebounds to keep the Peace Riders’ unbeaten slate in seven games.
Hesed Gabo had a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists, while Jong Baloria added 14 points Jonathan Uyloan tallied 12 points for the Peace Riders, who dominated the bench points, 40-17.
Basilan opened the second half on an 18-7 surge to turn a seven-point lead to a commanding 18-point advantage, 57-39, with 4:28 left in the third period.
But Clarin answered with a 16-5 counter-run, capped by three straight triples by John Wilson, to cut its deficit to just seven, 55-62.
But the Peace Riders started the fourth frame on fire from deep, going on an 11-3 blitz, topped by three-pointers from Gabo, Philip Manalang, and Uyloan, to restore a 17-point margin, 75-58, with 4:45 left in the game.
They were never threatened from thereon.
“The boys stepped up. They all really contributed offensively and defensively,” said Basilan head coach Jerson Cabiltes.
The Peace Riders aim for the elimination sweep and a straight ticket to the finals when they face Roxas tomorrow, 4 pm. The match will be the resumption of the cancelled game last July 13 at the 9:15 mark of the third period with the Vanguards up, 40-39.
Wilson paced the Sto. Niño with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, to go with six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Carlo Lastimosa also added 16 points, but took 15 shots, while also having four assists and four steals.
Clarin ended the eliminations at 7-1 – good for the second seed.
Earlier, Petra Cement-Roxas took down Kapatagan, 93-65, to collect its fifth win in a row.
The Vanguards overtook the 5-3 Pagadian for third with a 5-2 win-loss record. They will be armed with a twice-to-beat advantage come the quarterfinals.
JK Casiño played his best offensive game for Roxas with 19 points, 16 in the first half, to go with five assists and four rebounds to lead the Vanguards. Jhong Bondoc fired 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in 20 minutes, while Francis Camacho nailed 15 points also for Roxas.
Kapatagan dropped to 2-6.