PAGADIAN, Zamboanga del Sur -- Jumbo Plastic-Basilan kept Iligan at bay, racking up an 83-77 victory in the 2021 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup at the Pagadian City Gymnasium here Saturday.
Ahead by just six in the second frame, the Peace Riders closed the first half with a 13-7 run to bring a 45-33 lead at halftime.
The closest the Archangels could get was only within five via Jonathan Ballon's freebies at the 4:06 mark of the fourth frame, 66-71.
"Actually yung Iligan they just kept on fighting kaya nung nababa nila yung lamang sa lima, I just told my boys to settle down," said Peace Riders head coach Jerson Cabiltes.
But for any Iligan run, the much- experienced Basilan always had answers.
The Peace Riders utilized an 8-2 run to restore their lead to double figures, 79-68, with just 2:20 left.
Chris Bitoon played his best game in a Basilan uniform with 23 points, while fellow newcomer Michael Juico chimed i13 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Also coming through for the Peace Riders were Jong Baloria and Shaq Taganas with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The latter also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Basilan now improved their win-loss slate to 2-0.
Joel Lee Yu was the usual suspect for the Archangels with 16 points and five assists.
Lester Tamayo added a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
With the loss, Iligan fell to the bottom of the standings at 0-3.
Both squads will only have a day to rest as the Peace Riders tangle with Kapatagan on Monday, 6 p.m., while the Archangels dance with Petra-Cement Roxas at 4 p.m.
The scores:
Basilan (83) -- Bitoon 23, Juico 13, Baloria 11, Taganas 10, Collado 8, Mabulac 7, Lunor 5, Gabo 3, Siruma 2, Manalang 1, Bringas 0, Ng 0.
Iligan City (77) -- Lee Yu 16, Tamayo 14, Ballon 12, Baltazar 6, Marata E. 6, Tagolimot 5, Marata M. 4, Andor 4, Ordeniza 3, Dionson 3, Rabe 2, Canon 2, Montecalvo 0, Benitez 0.
Quarterscores: 22-13, 45-33, 65-54, 83-77.

Harold Ng of Jumbo Plastics-Basilan looks to score during the game between Basilan and Iligan in the Pilipinas Vis-Min Cup tournamnet in Pagadian City.
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