The defensive dragnet applied by the Jewels, anchored on Arwin Espiritu, Al Vergara and Francis Mercado, proved too strong for the Teeth Masters to break as they were held to just 16 points in the last two quarters, nine in the final 10 minutes that paved the way for Montaña’s runaway win.

"Honestly, we’re still in the process of adjusting after the departure of some of key players but everybody stepped up today and played solid defense," said coach Robert Sison. "We hope to do well in our future games."

Still, Sison was happy and satisfied with their performance — unlike in their opening game where they lost badly to Harbour Centre, 60-68.

With the win, the Jewels forged a four-way tie for third to sixth places with Granny Goose Tortillos, Rain or Shine and Hapee-PCU at 1-1. Magnolia Dairy Ice Cream took the early lead with a 74-57 triumph over Rain or Shine.

For a while, the Teeth Masters, who clobbered Far Eastern Insurance, 65-54, appeared headed for another breezy win after getting off to a fiery start where the took a 24-13 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

Hapee’s shooting suddenly went cold — no thanks to Montaña’s brilliant defensive rotations that saw the Teeth Masters scoring only 24 points the rest of the way. Typifying Hapee’s miserable performance was the lackluster performance of Gabby Espinas who was held to just four points.

The 6-foot-4 Espinas, widely reputed as one of the league’s finest big men, played for 21 minutes but managed to attempt only three times — obviously bothered by the defense thrown at him.

There was even no need for Alex Compton to score much as the rest managed to pitch in their share with Vergara leading the team with 11 points. Ariel Capus and Compton combined for 15 points.

With Espiritu and Mercardo at the helm, the Jewels dominated the shaded lane, grabbing 46 rebounds, 14 of them offensively, while the Teeth Masters managed only 34 rebounds. The Jewels also had 17 points second chance attempts against only two for Hapee.