Cagayan de Oro made a fitting follow-up to its stunning victory over1998 champion Pampanga last Sunday as it routed Batangas, 85-73, yesterday in the MBA FedEx Crossover Cup at the Mindanao Polytechnic State College Gym.
Veteran Jojo Martin, hustling and firing all day, scored 17 points and broke up a series of the Blades' offensive thrusts to power the Amigos to their fourth win in 11 games.
The win, fashioned out three days after scoring a big 98-77 victory over the Dragons, also snapped the Blades' three-game run with the latter absorbing their fifth defeat against the same number of victories.
The Amigos pounced on a third quarter meltdown by the Blades with Martin and Allan Garrido combining for a stirring 16-4 run that turned a 49-50 deficit into a 65-54 lead.
Over in San Juan, the Knights put up a tough defensive job on key Negros scorers in the final quarter as they carved out a come-from-behind 100-94 victory over the Slashers at the San Juan gym.
The Slashers took control of the game but cracked up in the face of the Knights' solid defense, typified by Omanzie Rodriguez' league record of nine blocks.