CEBU CITY , Philippines – The Quezon Red Oilers gave the Pampanga Buddies little room to operate as they hammered out a 64-52 victory last night to remain in the hunt for an outright finals berth while sending their victims to the brink in the Super Leg of Liga Pilipinas at the Cebu City Coliseum here.
Jonathan Pinera, a former Letran standout, drained five of his nine shots, including one from behind the arc, while Rob Labagala and Hafer Mondragon got the rest of the job done to give the Red Oilers their first win following an opening day loss to the Cebu M. Lhuillier Niños, 61-52, last Monday.
“We came out aggressive from start to finish,,” said Quezon Red Oilers coach Oliver Bunyi in Filipino.
While the Red Oilers remained in the finals race, the Smart Buddies virtually bowed out of contention with their second straight loss in the tournament.
Former pro Al Magpayo fired 18 points, including four triples, but hardly got support from his teammates as the Smart Buddies fell to their second straight setback following a 62-70 defeat to the MisOr Meteors Monday.
The tournament is sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and sponsored by Smart, Accel, Nolten, Burlington, Biofresh, Calcium Free, Gatorade, San Miguel Beer, Air21, Casino Alcohol, Omega Pain Killer, M Lhuillier Kwarta Padala and host Cebu councilor Yayoy Alcoseba.
The Cebu Niños posted its 17th win in row as it poised to become the first club to sweep the three-year-old league by beating the Red Oilers, 75-61, last Monday.
Bruce Dacia, another ex-pro, unloaded 14 points while Ariel Mepana and Marlon Basco chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Niños.
But the Red Oilers bounced back strong from that loss as they dominated the Smart Buddies from start to finish.
The top teams in the Super Leg will automatically advance to Sunday’s finals while the second and third placers will slug it out for the other berth there.