DEFENDING champion Davao Occidental-Cocolife averted what could have been a huge meltdown by hacking out a 105-91 victory over hard-fighting Manila on Wednesday night to remain unscathed in the Pilipinas Super League Pro Division Second Conference Dumper Cup at the AYSN Sports Center in San Juan.
Larry Rodriguez tallied 19 points and grabbed three rebounds for the Tigers, while Keith Agovida chipped in 18 points and seven rebounds.
John Wilson also had 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while Bonbon Custodio and Renzo Subido finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively for Davao, which scored a big follow-up to an 88-85 decision over Boracay in the league’s opening match last week and rose to 2-0 won-lost.
Veteran guard James Martinez, meanwhile, dazzled with 31 points to steer Bicol to an 88-83 win over gritty Cagayan De Oro-PSP in the other game.
The 35-year-old Martinez added two rebounds and two steals, while Alwin Alday provided ample help with 13 points and six rebounds as the Spicy Oragons redeemed themselves from a 74-78 loss to Batang Kankaloo-Caloocan four days ago and improved to 1-1.
A runaway triumph appeared in the bag for the Tigers after Subido’s three-pointer stretched the gap to as many as 77-54 with three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Refusing to roll and die, the Stars battled back in the final stanza and razed the deficit to just 90-96 on a Rence Alcoriza triple with 2:58 to go.
But Davao retaliated with a vicious 9-0 binge capped by two free throws by Custodio that made it 105-90, only 1:23 left.
Alcoriza led Manila with 20 points, while Macky Acosta and Guilmer Dela Torre combined for 29 points.
The Stars, who came off a 95-87 win over the Koolers last week, fell to 1-1.
Jamil Ortouste paced Cagayan De Oro-PSP with 22 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Ian Yutuc and Dariel Bayla contributed 21 and 13 points, respectively.
Cagayan De Oro-PSP dropped to 0-2, counting a 62-100 dumping at the hands of Sta. Rosa last week.