By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Team MDC grabbed a much-needed bounce-back win against Lead Gen, 89-74, while the Iloilo Executives are still undefeated after outlasting team Elite Lab, 79-67, in the 2022 Mayor Jerry P. Treñas New Normal basketball tournament.
After a disappointing loss against coach Rhodel Camacho and team TEJ Builders, team MDC finally picked up their pace and momentum after pounding Lead Gen in both offense and defense during their game.
MDC caught fire in the second half and made things hard for the struggling Lead Gen who is yet to clinch a single win in the prestigious tournament.
Agapito Clarito dominated the paint and controlled the boards while claiming another Tanduay Best Player of the Game with 32 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.
Meanwhile, in the next game, the Iloilo Executives showed that experience outshines youth after shutting down the well-oiled Elite Lab squad mentored by head coach John Guanco.
It was all Executives in the first half when they built their largest lead of the game with 27 points, 44-17, in just two quarters of the game.
The Executives’ backcourt of Peter Traviña and Miguel Sasuman were matchup nightmares for the Elite Lab as they just outscored their defenders and combined for 35 points.
However, Elite Lab’s full-court pressure finally worked in the last two quarters and even cut Executives’ lead to just nine in the fourth but Sasuman and the rest of the veterans weathered the storm and solved coach Guanco’s defensive puzzle.
Sasuman was awarded his first player of the game honors after erupting for 20 points, nine assists, and four rebounds.
The Executives are currently the leaders in their bracket with a stellar 4-0 record while MDC is sitting at the no. 3 spot with 2-1.
