MPBL: Caloocan, Manila spoil rivals streaks
ALBAY – The General Santos City Warriors and home team Bicol Volcanoes found their streaks snapped late Saturday night when they ran smack against their respective rivals here in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) Lakan season at the Albay Astrodome.
Riding on the crest of an eight-game winning run and a perfect streak with head coach Rich Alvarez in tow, the Warriors found a more determined, more aggressive counterparts in the Caloocan Supremos, who pulled off an inspiring 79-70 triumph.
Leading the Supremos’ charge was Almond Vosotros, a long-time member of the Gilas Pilipinas, who torched the opposition with five three-point shots on his way to finishing with 24 points.
But Vosotros didn’t do it alone for Caloocan, which moved up back to eighth spot with a 7-6 win-loss slate.
AJ Mandani stepped up and contributed 14 while Tomas Torres added 12. Rene Pacquiao had a double-double output of 12 points and 11 rebounds while Danny Marilao came off the bench and produced 10 in a display of balance firepower by Caloocan, which visited the foul line 25 times and made 19 of them for a 76-percent clip.
Gen San absorbed its third loss in 13 games but remained in second spot of the southern division of this tournament put up by Senator Manny Pacquiao with PBA legend and former MVP Kenneth Duremdes serving as commissioner.
The Warriors lost for the first time under Alvarez, who was responsible in giving the team its eight straight wins since taking over the coaching reins from Ramon Pido.
Like Gen San, Bicol’s winning run also came to a halt as Manila played the role as conqueror following a 76-73 win in the main game.
The Stars held their rivals scoreless in the final two minutes on their way to preserving their latest win — their 10th in 12 games which put them back in second place of the standings of the tough northern division of the fastest growing regional amateur basketball league.
Bicol lost for the sixth time in 14 games, but the team dropped its second straight home match and has yet to win a game it hosted.