Shark Energy feasts on Montana

Defending champion Shark Energy Drink toughened up on its defense in the third quarter yesterday to crush Montana Pawnshop, 69-50, for its second straight win in the PBL Challenge Cup at the Makati Coliseum.

Ateneo-Pioneer Insurance checked its three-game skid while snapping ICTSI La Salle’s own three-game run as it fashioned out a 66-49 victory in the other game.

Eldrick Ferrer, Leo Avenido and Enrico Villanueva combined for 37 points for Ateneo-Pioneer, whose victory shoved idle Blu Detergents to the top with a 4-1 (win-loss) card.

Chester Tolomia, last year’s MVP, and cat-quick Warren Ybanez combined for 19 points in the third period where the Power Boosters held the Jewellers to just seven points. Shark had a three-point lead at the half and led by 19, 56-37, entering the final quarter.

"Chester played a huge game for us but the key here was our tough defense in the third quarter," said Shark coach Leo Austria after his charges improved to 3-2 while dealing their opponents their fifth loss against a lone victory.

Montana dictated the early tempo behind the hot hands of Mark Macapagal as it enjoyed a 27-23 lead late in the second quarter. In the third, however, Tolomia stepped up for Shark, hitting 11 of his game-high 27 points.

The Jewellers tried to mount a rally in the final period but all they could do was narrow the gap to within 50-65 with only two minutes remaining.

Making things easier for the Power Boosters was the Jewellers’ poor field-goal shooting, hitting only 15 of 54 attempts for 29 percent. Montana also committed a total of 29 turnovers, leading to 32 points for Shark on transition plays. — Joey Villar