Lucky 13 for Risers; Athletics drill triples

BATANGAS CITY – The Bataan Risers blew a 28-point lead but recovered in time to subdue the Caloocan Supremos, 94-81, Tuesday night and stretch their win run in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Datu Cup at Batangas City Coliseum.

Flaunting their deep bench, the Risers surged ahead, 58-30, in the third quarter and looked headed for another blowout victory.

The Supremos, however, won't just surrender without a fight, striking back through Almond Vosotros, Jess Mar Villahermosa and Cedric Labing-isa, and threatening at 73-71, still 6 minutes and 40 seconds to go.

It turned out to be the Supremos' last stand though as J-jay Alejandro, Gary David and Pamboy Raymundo conspired to quell the uprising and lift the Zetapro-backed Risers to their 13 straight triumph after yielding their first assignment under Coach Jojo Lastimosa.

Accurate three-point shooting turned out to be the Risers' lethal weapon as they converted 14 of 28 tries for 42 points and 50 percent conversion that buried the Supremos, who could only make 7 of 29 attempts for 21 points and a measly 24 percent clip, deeper in the standings at 4-11.

Raymundo fired a game-high 20 points, including two triples, while David and Aljandro drilled in four triples each en route to 19 and 14 points, respectively. John Villarias, who presided over the Risers' 27-15 romp in the first quarter, added 15, spiked by three triples.

Though a marked man, Vosotros still managed to score 16 points and issue 11 assists for the Supremos.

The Batangas City Athletics also continued their climb with a 104-93 conquest of the Zamboanga Valientes in the nightcap.

With Jeff Viernes sparkling in the last three quarters and Val Acuna finally showing the form that earned him MVP honors in the inaugural MPBL Rajah Cup, the Athletics broke away at 88-68 and proceeded to tally their sixth straight victory and climb to 10-6.

The speedy, headyViernes, the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup MVP, posted game-highs 26 points, including four triples, and 11 assists, while Acuna chipped in 19 points, laced with five triples, as the Tanduay-backed Athletics booked a league-best 16 triples out of 30 tries.

Tey Teodoro added 12 points and Adrian Santos 10 for the Athletics, whose hot shooting compensated for 15 turnovers.

The Valientes, under team owner Junie Navarro and backer Family's Brand Sardines, fell to 6-9 despite five players contributing twin digits. Reed Juntilla topscored with 18, followed by RR de Leon and Jonathan Parreno with 14 each, Leo Avenido with 13 and Rino Berame with 12.

The MPBL goes to Muntinlupa Sports Complex on Wednesday with Paranaque battling Marikina at 7 p.m. and Muntinlupa tackling Quezon City at 9 p.m.