Carl Tamayo and the Changwon LG Sakers shrugged off a slow start and recovered just in time to take a 78-70 win over JD Cagulangan and the Suwon KT Sonicboom in the first duel of the former UP stars in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) Monday, Jan. 13.

Even though Tamayo had a poor shooting night of eight points with five rebounds, two assists and one steal in 35 minutes of action, the LG Sakers managed to preserve their lead as four other players – led by Darryl Monroe’s 18 on top of 16 rebounds – registered double-digit efforts against the Sonicboom.

Tamayo’s scoring output was far cry from his back-to-back 30-point game, including a career-high of 37 in the Sakers’ 92-88 loss to the Seoul Samsung Thunders (11-17).

After his spectacular debut last weekend, Cagulangan, for his part, tallied nine points, one rebound and three assists in a losing cause while Ismael Romero, Ha Yun-Gi, and Heo Hoon chipped in 18, 14, and 11 points, respectively for Suwon.

The Sakers hiked their card to 16-13 at 4th spot while the Sonicboom fell to 5th with a 15-13 slate.

In another game, Fil-American Justin Gutang impressed with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists, sparking the Thunders over the Busan KCC Egis, 81-69, to clinch their fourth consecutive win.

Meanwhile, Kevin Quiambao shared some updates on his social media post regarding an apparent foot injury he sustained in the Goyang Sono Skygunners (9-20) defeat to the league-leader Seoul SK Knights (22-6), 84-57, last Sunday.

“Thank you for the prayers and support! PS: Hindi siya ruptured (it’s not a rupture). I will be back soon,” Quiambao said.

But according to Naver, a Korean news outlet, Quiambao suffered a ruptured ankle ligament , based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results.

The two-time UAAP MVP will miss games this month and might return in early February.