Pampanga shoots for an imposing 2-0 lead when it battles Bacoor in Game 2 of their Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Fifth Season best-of-five National Finals on Tuesday at the Bren Z Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando City.
Bolstered by the return of Letran star Kurt Reyson, the Giant Lanterns trounced the Strikers, 71-58, in Game 1, boosting their confidence as they have yet to lose in their homecourt in their past 15 matches.
Having ended his stint with Letran College in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Reyson suited up and fired a game-high 22 points for the Giant Lanterns, who yielded the game’s first two points but controlled the rest of the way to frustrate the Strikers.
Reyson compounded the problems of the Strikers, who already have to contend with Justine Baltazar, the runaway Most Valuable Player race pacesetter, and the likes of Encho Serrano, John Lloyd Clemente, JV Bahio, MJ Garcia and Archie Concepcion.
The Strikers are determined to bounce back, but they can only do so if their defense holds, they don’t get clobbered underneath, and their chief gunners — Jhan Nermal and James Kwekuteye — find their range.
Led by Baltazar’s 16 rebounds, the taller Giant Lanterns ruled the boards, 54-41, paving the way for 34 points inside the paint and 19 more from fastbreaks.
Although Nermal persevered to tally 16 points on 4-of-12 shooting, Kwekuteye settled for two points after flubbing 11 tries.
