Iloilo falls to Basilan
By Adrian Stewart Co

The Basilan Steel scored an 83-68 victory over the Iloilo United Royals last Wednesday in the 2019/2020 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Lakan Cup playoffs at the Strike Gym in Bacoor City.
Basilan opened the match with a 12-0 run behind Jhaps Bautista and Jessie Collado. Iloilo then entered the scoring column off baskets from Ryan Arambulo but shots from Dennis Daa and Bobby Balucanag gave Basilan a 22-10 edge.
The eventual winners maintained a double-digit edge early in the second but the Ilonggo side responded with a run and cut their deficit to 39-36 on baskets from Arambulo and Jasper Parker. However, a triple by Jonathan Uyloan gave Basilan a 42-36 halftime lead.
Basilan regained its form in the third quarter as they established a 56-42 lead with shots from Gabriel Dagangon and Dino Daa. The Iloilo cut the deficit back to 53-58 but another Uyloan triple gave Basilan a 61-53 advantage.
The Steel went for the kill in the final period with Bautista, Balucanag, and Daa contributing to a 77-57 lead.
Bautista finished with 21 points built on three outside conversions for Basilan, while Daa and Hesed Gabo each contributed 10.
Meanwhile, Parker tallied 11 markers for Iloilo, while Arambulo contributed 10, Richard Escoto scored eight, and Rey Publico added five.
In the other game, the Bacoor City Strikers routed the GenSan Warriors, 95-72./ASC, WDJ