Games Thursday (JCSGO gym, Cubao)
2 p.m. — Far Eastern Ins. vs Hapee-PCU
4 p.m. — Harbour Centre vs Montaña Pawnshop
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MAGNOLIA DAIRY Ice Cream was still a bit rusty yesterday but just the same it got what it wanted: A rousing win.
Out to redeem themselves after a disappointing show the last conference, the Wizards leaned on a strong third quarter performance to eke out a 79-70 win over Granny Goose Tortillos at the start of the 2006 PBL Heroes Cup at the La Salle gym.
Kim Valenzuela, who had a forgettable stint with Ginebra San Miguel last year, led Magnolia’s well-balanced attack, scoring 17 points, including a huge trey midway in the third quarter to rip the game wide open and install themselves as one of the teams to beat.
Picking from where it left off, Rain or Shine (formerly Welcoat Paints) went to new recruits Ronjay Enrile and Yousif Aljamal and the usually reliable Jojo Tangkay in the final quarter as the Elasto Painters beat Toyota Otis, 81-75.
Tangkay was hot from the start as he scattered 21 points, while Enrile, a former top gun of Toyota Otis, added 16 points. Al Jamal chipped in eight points as the Elasto Painters outscored Toyota, 27-12 in the fourth.
The shifty Tangkay was at his best in the final period where he banged nine points which he highlighted with a three-point shot to complete a big come-from-behind win.
As expected, the Wizards struggled in the early part of the game, especially on the defensive end but the Snackmasters fared even badly that allowed Magnolia to control the tempo of the match.
Joe Calvin Devance, the No. 1 pick, paced Toyota with 16 on 6-of-10 shooting although he was hardly a factor in the final period.
"We still have a lot of things to do as you have witnessed in the game"
Banal told the media after the game. "But a win is a win. I can’t blame the boys, even the coaching staff medyo nangangapa pa rin."
But what was important for the Wizards was the impressive performance dished out by the 5-foot-7 Valenzuela that somehow made up for not so-impressive game by Arwind Santos and Kelly Williams.
The 6-foot-7 Williams tallied 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the field, while the 6-foot-4 Santos, who earlier vowed to give his team another championship, was limited to just seven points – being scoreless in the final 10 minutes.
The scores:
