By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Lorenzo Navarro was a thorn in the side of his former team, the Iloilo United Royals, as he led the Manila SV Batang Sampaloc SGA Stars to a 98-74 victory in the 2024 MPBL Season at the Villar Coliseum in Las Piñas City on Wednesday night, June 19.
Navarro, a member of the United Royals squad last year, waxed hot with 22 points, including seven three-pointers, to go with nine assists, seven rebounds and two steals for the Stars, now with a 10-4 win-loss slate.
The former Lyceum of the Philippines Pirates guard said the Stars team is slowly getting used to the system of head coach Gabby Severino, which resulted in their winning streak.
“Sobrang confident ‘ko sa teammates ko, sa coaches ko. Talagang pinaghahandaan namin ang bawat laro namin,” Navarro said.
“We will celebrate this win, but balik na din kami sa training kinabukasan,” he added.
Carl Bryan Cruz tallied a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds, Rabeh Al-Hussaini also contributed 14 markers, while Gregory Slaughter ended with 12 points for Manila.
Down 17-18 after the opening quarter, the Stars outscored the United Royals, 37-17, in the second quarter behind conversions by Navarro and Cruz to establish a 54-35 halftime lead.
The Stars leaned on inside conversions by Slaughter, Al-Hussaini and James Sena in the third quarter to widen the lead to 64-40 before they settled for a 78-58 advantage going into the final quarter.
The United Royals managed to trim the deficit to as low as 18 points in the fourth quarter, but Navarro uncorked three straight outside shots as the Stars increased their lead to as high as 28 points.
Gwyne Capacio top-scored for the United Royals with 18 points, while Shaquille Imperial and Clint Doliguez added 14 and 12, respectively, as they dropped to a 5-8 record./ASC, WDJ
MANILA 98 — Navarro 22, Cruz 14, Al-Hussaini 14, Slaughter 12, Javelona 9, Escandor 8, Jamon 6, J. Gonzaga 4, Tempra 2, Hanapi 2, Sena 2, Umali 2, Battaller 1, T. Gonzaga 0, Flores 0.
ILOILO 74 — Capacio 18, Imperial 14, Doliguez 12, Catapusan 6, Nonoy 5, Kapunan 5, Gomez 5, Santos 4, Madrigal 3, Javelosa 2, Berjay 0, Rangel 0, Dela Rosa 0, Beltran 0, Diaz 0.
Quarterscores: 17-18, 54-35, 78-58, 98-74.