3 takeaways from Iloilo Royals' MPBL win over Pasig

MANILA, Philippines – The Iloilo United Royals defeated one of the top teams of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, the Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors, 79-65, last Monday at the Makati Coliseum. 

The win was Iloilo’s third straight (12-8 overall) and moved them one notch higher from 17th to 16th place in the MPBL Lakan Cup standings. Pasig Sta. Lucia, on the other hand, dropped to 13-8, half a game ahead of the Royals. 

The Royals play the Imus Bandera this November 21 at 6:30 at the Marikina Sports Center.

Alfrancis Tamsi’s triple gave Iloilo the lead for good at the 3:48 mark of the first period, 14-12, Royals. The Realtors kept the game close but a late second quarter spurt saw Iloilo put on a sizeable lead. They Royals led by as much as 16 points after two free throws by Jerson Prado, to make it 61-45, at the end of the third period.

What makes this a big win for Iloilo is it matches this biggest win streak of the season with three. Earlier in the season, the Royals took down in succession the Bulacan Kuyas, Marikina Shoemasters, and the Manila Stars. And the accomplished this against a team with five former PBA players.

In this current streak, they have beaten the Navotas Uni-Pak Sardines, Bacolod Master’s Sardines, and Pasig. Iloilo looks to gain a fourth straight win – against the 25th ranked Imus Bandera. 

High points for Iloilo include:

• The addition of former University of the Philippines Fighting Maroon forward-center Jerson Prado. With center Jay Javelosa unavailable due to a fractured hand, Prado shores up a small front line that has Eric Rodriguez and Rey Publico. In limited minutes in his first game with his new team, Prado scored three points and hauled down two rebounds (in five minutes of action).
• Iloilo’s FEU trio played very well. Alfrancis Tamsi, Jasper Parker, and Richard Escoto all played for FEU with Royals head coach Eric Gonzales servi9ng as an assistant to Nash and Olsen Racela. The three combined for 54 points as they nearly matched the entire output of Pasig.
• The team play was exquisite highlighted by that three-pass sequence from Escoto to Ryan Arambulo then Publico for an undergoal stab for an early 4-2 Iloilo lead. Iloilo had a 19-8 advantage in assists.