MARINERONG Pilipino cruised to its third straight victory in the Philippine Basketball Association D-League Aspirants’ Cup with a 109-93 rout of AMA Online Education on Monday at the Pasig City Sports Center.
Gab Banal tallied 20 points, 14 rebounds and four assists for the Skippers, who controlled the game early by building a commanding 36-16 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The Titans came back strong in the second quarter to outscore the Skippers, 30-25, but Marinerong Pilipino kept its poise the rest of the way en route to its fourth win in six games.
“The key here is understanding what we want to do, what we want to achieve. Everything just fell into place,” Skippers Coach Koy Banal said.
Rian Ayonayon scored 18 points and had six rebounds, five assists and four blocks for the Skippers, who had all but one of 14 players fielded chipping in four points or more.
In a display of impressive shooting, Marinerong Pilipino made 45 of 95 attempts bolstered by its 31 assists. The Skippers also dominated the boards, 61-44.
Arvin Tolentino led AMA Online Education with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Robbie Manalang got 15 points, four boards and four assists for the Titans, who fell to 1-4.