Sta. Lucia rips Cagayan in PCBL tiff

MANILA, Philippines – Sta. Lucia Realty dominated early and went on to blast Cagayan Valley, 86-66, to move to solo third in the PCBL Founders Cup at the JCSGO gym in QC over the weekend.

The Realtors rode on a stinging 16-0 run in the second period to seize control, 34-14, then cruised in the second half to post their second straight win and fifth overall against three defeats.

Cagayan Valley slid to fourth with a 4-4 card in the tournament backed by Accel, Spalding, Aquabest and Ambucore.

Kent Salado fired a game-high 23 for Sta. Lucia while Wowie Escosio and Mark Montilla backed him up with 21 and 20 points, respectively.

Salado and Montilla combined in that Sta. Lucia binge midway in the second period then the former dropped 10 points in the third, capped by a buzzer-beating basket that kept the Realtors way ahead, 64-46.

Montilla, meanwhile, took over for SLR in the fourth, drilling in 12 points, including a jumper that made it, 80-60, with 2:56 remaining in the contest.

In the other game, Caida Tiles snapped a two-game skid as it pulled off a tough 69-67 victory over Euro-Med to regain the solo lead at 6-2.