by Jerome Lagunzad
Games Today (Valenzuela Astrodome)
7 p.m. — Parañaque vs Navotas
9 p.m. — Valenzuela vs Quezon City
Powerhouse Batangas City gave Caloocan the big boot, 86-75, on Tuesday night and capped its 2018 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Anta Rajah Cup elimination round showing in dominant fashion.
Former pro Lester Alvarez drilled in 17 points, spiked by three triples, while center Jhaymo Eguilos added 14 points as the Athletics shattered any hopes of the Supremos to make the playoffs in front of their own faithful inside the Batangas City Coliseum.
Former Jose Rizal University gunner Teytey Teodoro drilled in 11 points off the bench for Batangas City, which turned up the heat in the third canto and did enough in the stretch en route to its eighth victory overall in nine matches.
Athletics coach Mac Tan, however, sounded far from satisfied. “We cannot play like this. Mahilig kaming mag-showboat. I’m trying to change the culture. I don’t want to see that kind of culture. It will be hard for us to play in the playoffs if we play that way,” he said.
Edzel Mag-isa had a team-high 16 points while Jopher Custodio added 14 points that all went for naught as Caloocan suffered its eighth loss overall, bowing out of the inaugural conference with just a solitary win to show.
Earlier, Muntinlupa gained more ground in playoff positioning by pulling off an 87-78 over Bataan.
Former pro Chito Jaime continued his fine play with 22 points on top of three blocks while GJ Ylagan accounted for 19 points as the Cagers got back on track and forged a four-way tie at second spot with a 5-3 record.
Four-time PBA scoring champion Gary David led all scorers with 26 points on top of eight rebounds but he could not prevent the Defenders from dropping down to a 2-6 mark, allowing idle Imus Bandera to gain a share of the eighth and final playoff spot.
Action swings back to the Valenzuela Astrodome tonight with a pair of vital matches for playoff-bound squads.
The Parañaque Patriots and the Navotas Clutch, both toting similar 4-4 marks, will part ways at 7 p.m. while the Classic square off with the Quezon City Capitals in a pivotal encounter for the No. 2 spot set at 9 p.m.