Firechief Fire Extinguisher caught a big fish in previously unbeaten JC2 even as Capital Basketball wrested the solo lead following a hard-fought win over Exile in the V-Cup 40-and-Up Legends Basketball at the West Rembo Covered Court in Taguig recently.
Ryan Tolentino pumped in 18 points while three other players ended up in double figures for Firechief, which completed a stunning 78-77 win and handed JC2 its first loss in the tournament.
Firechief’s bench stepped up in its breakthrough win in the tournament as Josh Gustillo added 14 markers, team captain Bonbon Custodio flirted with a triple-double performance and Bryan Faundo flexed his muscles.
A multiple-time PBA champion, Custodio finished with 13 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out eight assists while Faundo chipped in 11 markers on top of five boards for the F. Cura Industries-backed squad, whose bench players outscored their counterparts, 53-39.
Following JC2’s first loss in the tournament, Capital Basketball seized the momentum and took care of business by carving out a hard-earned 80-76 triumph over Exile.
Chico Lanete was virtually unstoppable as the former PBA champion had another big scoring night. producing 27 points, pulling down five rebounds and completing four steals in yet another brilliant, all-around performance for Capital Basketball.
With Lanete chalking up huge numbers anew, Capital Basketball picked up its third win in as many games to vault its way into solo lead.
In winning over Exile, Capital Basketball generated more points coming from fast breaks, 25-16, and and bench points, 47-40, and shot better from the field, 40.9% as against only 33.7% from its rival.
Backing up Lanete’s explosive performance was Andeang Querubin, who contributed 15 points and four assists for Capital Basketball.
