Davao Eagles soar above Pampanga Stars

The Professional Davao Eagles showed newfound toughness in a 94-88 victory over the Pampanga Stars Tuesday night as they continued their climb in the MBA First Conference at the RMC Gym in Davao City.

Unfazed by a 21-point deficit (62-41) in the third quarter, the Eagles rallied behind 2001 Discovery of the Year Peter June Simon to wrest control and post their third victory in five games.

Simon pumped in 11 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter and was supported by recruits Cid White and Glenn Peter Yap and rookies Billy Mamaril and Jon Dan Salvador in handing the Stars their third straight defeat.

"We were supposed to play full court press, but the boys did not seem to respond to our defensive plays so we lagged behind," said Davao coach Bong Go. "Only in the fourth quarter were they able to adjust and live up to our battle cry which is Kapit Aguila."

Indeed, the Eagles bared their sharp claws in that span.

Trailing, 74-68, the Eagles clustered 15 points behind the guns of Simon to move up and were never headed with six minutes, 44 seconds left.

The Eagles’ victory spoiled the debut of Fl-Am Chris Guinto for the Stars.

The 6-foot-7 Guinto made 10 points as he held his ground against fellow US-trained Billy Mamaril. The 6-foot-6 Mamaril scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Eagles.

Today’s game pits winless teams Pampanga and Casino Cagayan de Oro at 6 p.m. at the Mindanao Polytechnic Gym in Cagayan de Oro City. The memorandum of agreement between Casino and the CDO Amigos was signed on Monday.