More fines assessed on coaches, cagers

Penalizing erring coaches and players is fast becoming a habit for MBA officials.

MBA commissioner Ogie Narvasa slapped coach Robert Sison and Cid White of Negros and Andy De Guzman of Nueva Ecija with a total fine of P8,000 for their unsportsmanlike conduct over the weekend.

Sison was assessed a P4,000 fine for throwing invectives at the referees in the Slashers’ Sunday game with the Patriots in Bacolod City. It was Sison’s second offense after being fined the same amount in the Negros-LBC Batangas game last June 20.

White and De Guzman, on the other hand, were slapped a fine of P2,000 each for engaging in a verbal altercation with each other midway in the third quarter of the match.

Meanwhile, Cebuana Lhuillier notched its eighth victory in 12 games as it repeated over Socsargen, 103-97, at the rain-soaked Araullo Centrum Gym in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.

Mat Mitchell mocked every defender thrown at him, finishing with a season-high 39 points spiked by 18 rebounds, six assists and three steals as the Gems handed the Marlins their ninth loss against two wins.

The Gems dictated the tempo early and then led by as many as 15 points late in the third period when Mitchell and Peter Naron spearheaded a blistering run that pegged the count at 74-59 in their favor.

But the Marlins fought back to level the count at 78-all on Aldrich Reyes’ layup at the start of the final period.

When the Gems re-asserted their offensive strength, they wrested the lead only to see it trimmed to a point, 94-93, with a little over four minutes to go before the Marlins self-destructed the rest of way when the court started to get slippery due to heavy rains.

In the other game, FedEx Laguna clobbered Nueva Ecija, 112-91, for its fourth win in nine games. The Patriots slid to 2-7. — Joey Villar