By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Iloilo United Royals shot poorly from the field and gave away Game 1 of the MPBL playoffs quarterfinals, 83-68, against the Basilan Steel Jumbo Plastic.
With the absence of main shooter Al Francis Tamsi, the United Royals fired blanks and only converted 5 of their 30 attempts from the three-point line.
In the opening frame, Iloilo was given a taste of their own medicine as Basilan pushed the pace early on, blitzing to a 12-0 lead that led to a coach Eric Gonzales timeout.
Iloilo remained scoreless until Ryan Arambulo scored the first basket after almost 5 minutes of action.
After trailing by double digits, the United Royals settled into their offense that allowed them to cut the lead to only 6 at the end of the half, 42-36.
However, Basilan countered by going on a run of their own to start the third quarter led by Jerald Bautista who sank 8 of his 10 attempts from the field including 3 from downtown and a perfect 5 out of 5 from the perimeter.
Basilan kept Iloilo off-balance all night by making easy and decisive passes leading to 20 assists made compared to only 8 for Iloilo.
The United Royals are looking to bounce back after a shooting slump and will try to negate Basilan’s homecourt advantage in game 2 scheduled on February 24, 2020, 8:30 PM.
Scores:
Basilan- Bautista 21, Daa, 10, Gabo 10, Dagangon 9, Balucanag 8, Collado 7,
Iloilo- Parker 11, Arambulo 10, Escoto 8, Sierra 7, Prado 6, Gumaru 5, Jeruta 5
