The Senate Sentinels nailes their second straight victory after bombarding GSIS Thunder Furies, 97-50, in the UNTV Cup Off Season Executive Face-Off at the Pasig City Sports Center, Sunday.
Sen. Joel Villanueva masterfully led the Sentinels to victory after his 34-point finish, dedicating the game to the late father of teammate Sen. Sonny Angara, the former Sen. Edgardo Angara.
“We are motivated for this game, which we dedicate to the father of Sen. Sonny, [the late] Sen. Ed Angara.” said Senate coach Mike Fermin.
Though they failed in their debut game, the GSIS vowed to step up its training to match the endurance levels of other teams in the League of the Public Servants.
Thunder Furies Coach Reneboy Banzali said: “We need to condition ourselves more in order to run more in the next practices.”
The Ombudsman Graft Busters, meanwhile, fell to the mighty PNP Responders in the second game, 83-58.
The nine-player lineup of the Graft Busters was unable to sustain their first-half edge as the well-balanced 13-cager lineup of PNP outplayed them to the hilt.
“At first, we did 1-2-2, then we did a 2-3 zone. Players shot easy baskets so they jumped shot at the corner. Before the third-quarter, we stopped the jump shot for the man-to-man play. The outcome was good and we saw our strength in the man-to-man plays,” said Responders’ coach Alfred Suarez.
Graft Busters’ Head Coach Ricky Alcantara said: “We were really outnumbered, we could not sustain our energy in the first half. We were neck and neck in the first half, and before the first half ended, we got the edge but then later in the third quarter, the players got tired.”
In the third game, the Judiciary Magis exacted sweet revenge on defending champion AFP Cavaliers, 67-66.
It can be recalled that the AFP routed the Magis during the semifinals of last year’s offseason game.
“We physically prepared against their running game strategy. We defended against their 3-point shooters. We also rebounded, then we went straight with our run-and-gun offense,” sais Judiciary coach Warren Ybanez.
Judiciary’s Joey Yabut received the Best Player of the Game award for the second time, while court administrator Jose Midas Marquez contributed 18 points.
The PNP Responders, Senate Sentinels and Judiciary Magis all tote 2-0 records.
