Matthew Mitchell sparkled on both ends of the court, leading the Cebu Gems to an 86-72 rout of the Nueva Ecija Patriots in the MBA-FedEx Crossover Cup at the Araullo Centrum in Cabanatuan City.
The 6-foot-6 Mitchell led all scorers with 28 points, including 18 in the second half, as the Cebuana Lhuillier-sponsored Gems earned their fifth win in 10 games. The Fil-Am cager also had 14 rebounds, two assists and three blocks in a sterling all-round performance.
Nueva Ecija found no answer to Mitchell as it suffered its third loss against seven defeats.
Meanwhile, the much-awaited Iloilo-Pampanga showdown in Guam, originally scheduled Saturday night, was rescheduled for yesterday evening after an island-wide power failure forced the postponement of the games.
The Megavoltz-Dragons game, although part of the two teams' participation in the Budweiser International Challenge, will be counted as an official game of the ongoing Crossover phase.