General Santos City—Once again, the General Santos Warriors did not disappoint their hometown crowd, who trooped to the Lagao Gymnasium here Thursday night.
John Orbeta finished with a double-double effort, while Dekmar Mahaling came through with crucial baskets before fouling out as the Golden State College-backed Warriors outlasted the Laguna Heroes-Krah, 69-66, in the MPBL Datu Cup.
It was the second win in as many games at home by General Santos City this season, improving its win-loss record to 5-6 and snapping back-to-back losses.
Orbeta finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Mahaling had 14, including crucial baskets inside the final minute, allowing the host team to hold on to the win.
After winning four in a row, the Heroes lost their last two games and fell to 6-6.
Earlier, inaugural staging champion Batangas City ripped Muntinlupa, 82-71, in a rematch of last season’s finale.
The Tanduay-backed Athletics, who were playing on and off this season, made sure they will preserve once of their best games in the tournament facing one of the top teams in the fastest growing regional amateur basketball league in the country.
Behind ex-pro Denice Villamor, the Athletics bucked the absence of Paul Varilla and an ailing Val Acuña, as the former Barangay Ginebra Gin King came away with nine of his 15 points in the fourth period.
The 6’4” Villamor scored his team’s last six points in a solid effort.
“I think Denice is one of the best players in the squad and has a chance of making his way back in the PBA. I motivated him to continue pursuing that dream by playing solid ever game here in the MPBL,” said Batangas City coach Mac Tan, whose team made it back to the .500 win-loss mark with a 6-6 card.
After winning eight straight games, the Angelis Resort-supported Cagers lost two in a row. They went a perfect 7-0 record under Aldrin Morante, then surprisingly made a coaching change by naming Aldin Ayo as coach in lieu of the former.
Ayo’s record with the team is 1-2. “‹