Subic—Defending champion San Juan-Go for Gold was simply too much against extremely undermanned Makati as the Knights chalked up a 77-point,131-54 mauling of the Super Crunch to advance to the 2021 Chooks-to-Go Lakan National Finals, Wednesday at the Subic Bay Gymnasium here.
San Juan will face the winner of the Southern division finals between Davao Occidental-Cocolife and Basilan-Jumbo Plastic.
Only five homegrown players from Makati made the bubble as issues with the management prevented other players to join, namely David Carlos, Edwin Asoro, Bhabap Sta. Maria, Carlo Lloren, and Kako Morales.
San Juan opened the game with a 15-0 start and never looked back. Bhabap Sta. Maria gave Makati its first basket at the 5:39 mark of the game.
“Sinabi ko sa mga players huwag tumingin kung sino ang kalaban namin. Ipinakita ng mga players na hindi sila nag-relax, nag-effort pa rin sila para makita na convincing win talaga,” said Knights head coach Randy Alcantara.
And as the game went on, the story for the Knights continued to brighten, while it was the opposite for Makati.
San Juan limited Makati to just six points in the second frame that led to a 64-17 halftime lead.
Ced Pelayo’s three pointer at the 4:38 mark of the fourth quarter gave San Juan its biggest lead of the match at 78, 119-41.
Mike Ayonayon tallied his first triple-double in his storied MPBL career with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Knights.
San Juan main man John Wilson topscored with 22 markers on a very efficient 9-of-11 shooting clip, while Jhonard Clarito got 20 points and 13 boards in just 16 minutes.
Outlet passes were a friend of the Knights as they converted 51 fastbreak points while Makati only had seven. They also made a whopping 48 assists in 58 made field goals.
The 77-point win by San Juan was a new league-record, surpassing the 53-point win of Bacoor against Parañaque on August 27, 2019, 109-56.
Edwin Asoro led the shorthanded Super Crunch with 21 points while Sta. Maria chipped in 14 markers.
San Juan awaits the winner of the Davao Occidental-Basilan knockout match which is set to take place on March 17 if the Steel net a negative RT-PCR test result.
The Scores:
San Juan 131—Wilson 22, Clarito 20, Wamar 14, Ayonayon 10, Gabawan 9, Pelayo 9, Rodriguez 8, Buñag 8, Ubalde 8, Aquino 6, Isit 5, Reyes 4, Marquez 4, Tajonera 2, Estrella 2.
Makati 54—Asoro 21, Sta. Maria 14, Carlos 9, Morales 6, Lloren 4
Quarterscores: 38-11, 64-17, 94-36, 131-54.