Toyota sears Burger King; H Centre wins

Toyota Balintawak, expecting a tough outing against unbeaten Burger King, encountered an easy sailing instead as the Roadkings dealt the Whoppers their first setback with a crushing 82-66 victory in the PBL Unity Cup at the Olivarez Sports Center yesterday.

Working on a tough defense and banking on game-long heroics of Dennis Daa, the Roadkings broke away from a tight game in the first half with a sleek running attack in the third period, then sustained the momentum in the fourth to cruise to their third win in five starts.

Daa came away with 28 big points, grabbed 13 rebounds, made three assists and one shot block in 28 minutes of play, keying a decisive third quarter Toyota run that enabled the Roadkings to pull away from a 45-40 game en route to the runaway victory.

But while Toyota Balintawak had a virtual easy time in disposing of Burger King, defending champion Harbour Centre had to work overtime before subduing a stubborn Cebuana Lhuillier-Pera Padala side, 84-81, in the other game.

Jason Castro, whose muffed three-point play in the last 20 seconds, set the stage for the extra period, 72-all, and Chico Lanete scored five points each in the extra period as the Batang

Pier outscored the Moneymen, 10-1, in the first three minutes to build an 82-73 lead with 1:40 left in the contest.

With its fourth straight win, Harbour Centre caught up with Burger King at the helm while Cebuana Lhuillier fell to 3-2.

Daa also held his own against Burger King’s highly touted big man JR Quinahan, whom he limited to an 8-of-19 shooting from the field, while allowing only five rebounds. Quinahan finished with 18 points.

The Roadkings also flourished on the defensive end as they shackled Whopper hotshot Ronjay Buenafe, who was held to just 10 points after averaging 23 points in Burger Kings’ last two games.

"Our main focus was to stop Buenafe. That’s why my instruction was to let Quinahan have the ball but limit Buenafe. We know JR would tire out and that paid off in the end," said Toyota Balintawak coach Ariel Vanguardia.

The loss snapped Burger King’s streak at four.