KCS-Mandaue tightened itrs defense in the fourth period to pull away and beat the Siquijor Mystics, 66-46, as the the Visayas leg of the 2021 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Cup took off on Friday at the Civic Center in Alcantara, Cebu.
Mandaue led by 20 points early but its lead dwindle to 42-37 late in the third quarter. But the Cebu team got its act together in the payoff period to snatch the win in the southern league’s inaugural game.
Far Eastern University products Gryann Mendoza and Al Francis Tamsi led Mandaue with 17 and 12 points, respectively, in the match that was witnessed by live fans.
Up by just eight early in the fourth, Tamsi sparked a breakaway by scoring five of his team’s next seven points, giving Mandaue a 15-point cushion, 59-44, with 4:30 left in the game.
Mandaue head coach Mike Reyes said they had a lot of trouble with Siquijor’s crafty players.
“We were bullied,” said Reyes, adding their defense was just as much to blame as Siquijor’s proficiency in the shaded lane.
“Nagkakamali kami sa defense but we adjusted. The right helpers came and we started fronting the post, that’s when we were able to pull away,” said Reyes, who steered the Southwestern University-Phinma Cobras to the Cebu Schools Athletic Federation Inc. men’s basketball crown in 2019.
Miguel Castellano was the only player to score in double figures for Siquijor with 14 points to go with his eight rebounds and two assists.
Team skipper and former Ateneo star Ryan Buenafe was held scoreless in more than eight minutes of action.
Mandaue will next face MJAS Zenith-Talisay in an early battle of Cebuano teams at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Siquijor, on the other hand, will have little rest as it takes on Dumaguete on Saturday at at 7 p.m.
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