MANILA, Philippines - Jumbo Plastic Linoleum used a strong start and shackled Euro-Med’s gunners as it scored a runaway 79-65 victory to move up to joint second with two others in the PCBL Founders Cup at The Arena in San Juan.
Jumbo Plastic held Bong Gallanza to just 10 points on a woeful 2-of-11 shooting from the field and went on to post its second victory in three starts to tie rival Sta. Lucia in the early going of the tournament backed by Spalding, Accel, Aquabest and Ambucore.
Caida Tiles paces the field with three straight wins.
Burly frontliner JR Taganas muscled his way for a double-double performance, tallying 20 points and 14 rebounds while Jeff Biernes contributed 12 markers. Ex-pro Alvin Padilla and John Lopez added 10 points apiece for Jumbo Plastic.
Former PBA player AJ Mandani fed Jaymo Eugilios for an easy basket as Jumbo Plastic raced to a 21-11 lead on a 17-6 run early in the second period. Taganas knocked in another bucket inside the lane to give Jumbo Plastic a 38-19 bulge in the 3:23 mark.
Euro-Med did fight back in the third period on Dan Alberto’s two free throws but failed to sustain its charge as Jumbo Plastic countered with eight straight points to start the fourth period to pull away again.
Cagayan, meanwhile, finally barged into the win column with a 92-70 rout of Supremo Lex in the other game.
The Rising Suns shot a high 53.85 percent from the field with John Bangga leading the way with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
The win tied Cagayan with Kama Motors and Foton at 1-2.
Supremo Lex is the only winless team in the tournament, losing all of its first three games.