Blades thwart Amigos, firm up semis bid

LBC Batangas withstood Casino Cagayan de Oro’s fiery rally to tally an 80-77 victory Saturday night and boost its semifinal bid in the MBA First Conference at the Mindanao Polytechnic Gym.

The Blades led by as many as 22 points (57-35) early in the third quarter only to find the Amigos breathing down their necks in the homestretch. Jeffrey Sanders and Ralph Rivera, however, provided the sustaining firepower that handed the Blades their third straight win after dropping their first two games.

The Amigos, on the other hand, suffered their seventh defeat against a lone victory and formally bowed out of the semifinal race in the Southern Conference.

Sanders carded a game-high 27 points, pulled off two steals and swatted away two shots to earn best- player-of-the-game honors.

Given more playing time in the absence of 1999 MVP Alex Compton, Rivera contributed 19 points for the reigning national titlists.

Eddie Laure, the 2001 MVP, again did his part for coach Nash Racela by snagging 15 rebounds on top of eight points, three assists and one block.

The Blades are again expected to miss the services of Compton, who’s attending to his ailing father in the United States, when they visit the Professional Davao Eagles at 6 p.m. today at the RMC Gym.

Earlier, Professional Davao stunned RCPI Negros, 87-77, to improve to 4-3 and forge a three-cornered fight for the two semis slots in the Southern Conference.

Slightly ahead of Professional Davao were Cebuana Lhuillier (5-1) and RCPI Negros (5-2).

Cebuana Lhuillier downed Pampanga, 109-99, at the CEU Centrodome in Malolos City also on Saturday. Its sixth defeat against a lone win virtually slammed the door on Pampanga as it needs to sweep its three remaining games to stay alive for the second semifinal seat in the Northern Conference.