Cebu suffers second straight loss in MBPL

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu Classic crashed to their second consecutive defeat after bowing down to the 1Bataan Risers, 79-69, in the 7th Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) season on Thursday, March 20, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.

It was a sorry loss for Cebu, which took a double-digit, 42-32, on a jump shot by Rashawn McCarthy with still 6:52 left in the third period.

However, 1Bataan countered with a 19-6 blast to seize control of the match, 51-48, for good.

After Cebu pulled within just a hairline, 50-51, on two free throws by Jeco Bancale, the Risers dropped a devastating 16-0 bomb bridging the third and fourth quarters to break the game wide open with a 17-point advantage, 67-50, at the final 8:06 mark.

Cebu couldn’t get any closer than nine points, 66-75, in the last two minutes.

Jeff Santos and Yves Sazon bagged 12 points each while Robbi Marion Darang added 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists to help 1Bataan barge into the win column after two failed attempts.

Bancale finished with 12 points, three rebounds and as many assists, while Dennis Gabriel Santos nailed 11 markers on top of five boards but to no avail as Cebu stumbled again after an impressive start.

Mark Meneses produced a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds laced with two assists and two steals for Cebu, which will try to snap its two-game skid when it battles against the San Juan Knights on Monday, March 24, at the Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan City.