By ADRIAN STEWART CO
The Negros Muscovados secured their second consecutive win in the 2024 MPBL Season after taking down the hapless Imus Agimat VA Drones, 75-68, at the Caloocan Sports Complex on Tuesday night, July 2.
Negrense Jose Piero Longa knocked down all of his three outside conversions to finish with 13 points to go with one rebound, one assist and a steal for the streaking Muscovados.
Buenaventura Raflores, Jr. finished with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds to be named Player of the Game as the Muscovados notched their second straight win for a 6-10 record.
“Slowly, mas nakukuha ko na ‘yung rhythm ko. Halos kababalik ko lang kasi sa basketball since pahinto-hinto ‘yung paglalaro ko eh,” Raflores said in a post-game interview.
“This is just my third game with Negros, and mas nakukuha ko naman ‘yung system ni [Muscovados] coach Bonnie [Garcia]. Sinabihan niya ako na to concentrate sa rebounding ko, and ‘yung scoring naman is darating din,” he added.
Holding to a 67-52 advantage after a basket by Muscovados’ Jan Formento midway through the fourth period, Imus responded with a 10-3 scoring run to cut the deficit to 62-70 with more than two minutes left in the game.
A split free throw by Raflores and a basket by Mark Atabay gave Negros a 73-62 lead before Imus made their last push to cut the deficit to 66-73 with less than a minute remaining.
Orin Catacutan finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, Nemesis dela Cruz chipped in 20 markers, while Jameson Hiro contributed 10 markers as Imus remained winless in 16 matches.
The Muscovados will attempt their third consecutive victory against the Rizal XentroMall Golden Coolers at the Olivarez College Gymnasium in Parañaque City on July 8 at 6:00 p.m./ASC, WDJ
NEGROS 75 — Longa 13, Raflores 13, Cruz 8, Palma 8, Villanueva 7, Atabay 7, Peralta 7, Formento 6, Lorenzo 2, Geolingo 2, Gabriel 2, Gania 0, Chavez 0, Alcaide 0, Reyes 0.
IMUS 68 — Catacutan 22, Dela Cruz 20, Hiro 10, De Chavez 8, Popovic 5, Gimpayan 3, Gonzaga 0, Davis 0, Paraiso 0, Enriquez 0, Nicodemus 0, Camacho 0, Rosales 0, Malimban 0, Velasco 0.
Quarterscores: 15-11, 37-24, 59-45, 75-68.