This time, Erwin Sta. Maria took the backseat in offense and let Pol Santiago take over.
But that hardly had any effect on Tito Rex’s Firewire, which picked up its second straight win following a dominant 93-79 triumph over Saints in the V-Cup 40-and-Up Legends Basketball Tournament at the West Rembo Covered Court in Taguig.
Santiago finished with 23 points to go along with seven rebounds and a steal to provide the firepower for Tito Rex’s Firewire, which improved its win-loss record to 2-1.
Sta. Maria picked up form where he left off in the previous win as he pumped in 20 points in his team’s latest victory.
The former star player of Mapua hit 8-of-13 shots to set the tone for his squad’s steady shooting. Tito Rex’s Firewire hit 47.4% fropm the field (37-of-78) as against only 31.1% (23-of-74) for the Saints, who was held down to only seven markers in the first period and allowed its counterpart to unload 35 points.
That first-quarter explosion was enough for Tito Rex’s Firewire in dictating the tempo of the game.
While Tito Rex’s Firewire is now starting to gain momentum, Lancaster snapped a two-game skid and entered the win column with a tense 72-69 win over IT Depot x Tela Athletics.
Marvin Mercado was rock-solid all game long as he finished with a double-double performance of 12 points and 13 rebounds, b ut offensively, it was Teng Baarde who presided for Lancaster as he had a near double-double performance, coming away with 15 points on top of eight boards.
