By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Alwyn Alday scored a go-ahead basket as Bacolod BingoPlus pulled off a 61-58 escape over Zamboanga City Family Sardines in Game 2 of Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) Southern Division semifinals on Saturday night, November 12, at the Batangas City Coliseum.
With the score tied at 58-all with less than a minute left, Alday eluded his defenders to score a floating jump shot and give Bacolod a 60-58 advantage with time down to 26 seconds in the fourth quarter.
Following a miss by Zamboanga’s Jaycee Marcelino, Bacolod widened the lead to 61-58 on a split free throw by Jayboy Solis before they sealed the all-important win following a missed basket by Jerald Bautista.
Alday finished the match with 21 points, including four three-point conversions, to go with three rebounds and three assists as Bacolod tied their best-of-three division semifinals at 1-1.
Negrenses Mark Yee and Raymund Ilagan both submitted double-double numbers with the former tallying 11 points and 13 rebounds and the latter chipping in 10 points and 12 boards for Bacolod.
From a slim 13-12 lead after the first 10 minutes, Bacolod created some separation in the second quarter behind conversions by Joel Lee Yu, Alday, Yee, and Ilagan for a 27-22 halftime score.
The lead reached its largest at seven points early in the third quarter after a basket by Alday, but Zamboanga City kept the match close with key conversions to take 44-43 before Solis answered with a shot to surge the Bacolodnon ahead, 45-44.
Bacolod opened the fourth quarter strong with a triple from Kraniel Villoria and inside shots from Ilagan and a three-pointer by Alday for a 55-48 lead with over three minutes remaining.
Zamboanga City cut it to 53-55 via an inside hit by Jhaymo Eguilos and a triple by Bautista. Bacolod widened it to 58-53 on a triple by Jhan Nermal, but Zamboanga City got conversions from Bautista and Marcelino to tie the score for the last time at 58-all.
Eguilos led the way with 14 points to go with eight rebounds, while Bautista added 11 markers for Zamboanga City. Marcelino was held to five points after dropping 21 points and 13 rebounds in Game 1.
BACOLOD 61 — Alday 21, Yee 11, Ilagan 10, Nermal 9, Solis 5, Villoria 3, Lee Yu 2, Jeruta 0, Maloles 0.
ZAMBOANGA 58 — Eguilos 14, Bautista 11, JV Marcelino 9, Jaime 9, JC Marcelino 5, Tansingco 4, Santos 2, Dumapig 2, Mahari 2, Tabi 0, Grimaldo 0, Comia 0, Mosqueda 0.
Quarterscores: 13-12, 27-22, 45-44, 61-58./ASC, WDJ