Clay unravels toughest form

In a serious bid to lead FedEx Laguna to its first-ever Metropolitan Basketball Association title, Fil-Am Cris Clay unleashed his fiercest offensive might in leading the Lakers to back-to-back victories and earn the MBA Hardcourt Player of the Week for the period of Sept. 26-30.

The 6’1 Clay, who is known for his thunderous dunks, had a huge hand in the Lakers’ 115-95 roughhousing of the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems before an appreciative home crowd at the San Luis Sports Complex in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

Nicknamed ‘White Thunder,’ Clay scattered 13 points, hauled down six rebounds and dished off five assists against the plummeting Gems.

And last Sunday, Clay unraveled a virtuoso performance, banging in 15 of his game-high 39 points in powering the Lakers to a record-smashing 142-107 demolition of the listless TPG-Davao Eagles at the San Luis Sports Complex.

The 142 points scored by the Lakers broke the previous 140 established by the Knights against the Eagles during their First Phase encounter.

The 249 total output for both teams also shattered the 242 posted by Cebuana Lhuillier in its 137-105 whipping of Andok’s San Juan last June.

Clay, who came into the league midway in the 1999 MBA season, made mincemeat of Davao Eagles’ defense, hitting jumpers, converting on driving lay-ups, while hustling in defense that drew smiles from coach Bonnie Garcia since the Lakers have hiked their record to 3-2.

The Lakers have never reached the MBA National finals in the pro league’s first three seasons. The closest they could get was a finals stint in the FedEx Crossover Cup, where they bowed to the rampaging San Juan Knights, 2-0.

Clay beat a host of talented cagers led by LBC Batangas ace slotman Romel Adducul; Andok’s San Juan’s Khalani Ferreria; Blades guard Ralph Emerson Rivera and Cebuana Lhuillier’s Joey Santamaria.