Dazz dissolves Blu in Baguio, boosts semis bid

BAGUIO CITY — Dazz Dishwashing Liquid took the sting out of Blu All Purpose with its steady outside game and pulled off an 83-69 victory Saturday to enhance its semifinal bid in the PBL Challenge Cup at the Baguio Colleges Foundation Gym here.

Mark Saquilayan, Jun Peter Simon and Cyrus Baguio spearheaded the first wave with key perimeter shots while Eugene Tan buried two triples in the fourth quarter that broke the backs of the Detergent Kings.

"The key here is that we hit the outside shots that mattered and we didn’t buckle under pressure," said Dazz coach Junel Baculi.

With the exciting trio of Simon, Saquilayan and Baguio, who was cheered by the hometown crowd here mainly due to his name, hitting the lethal jumpers, the Grease Busters entered the final period with a huge 69-50 lead.

Speedy Lou Gatumbato’s two straight fastbreak lay-ups capped an 8-2 exchange as the Detergent Kings crept closer, 58-71, only to get smashed by a pair of crushing long treys that sealed the win.

Dazz thus leveled with LBC Batangas at third place with a 5-4 record, a shade behind its victim, Blu (7-3), and league-leader Welcoat Paints (7-1).

Blu coach Leo Isaac slammed the officiating but refused to elaborate. Earlier, Sunkist played the spoiler’s role to the hilt as it eliminated John O, 81-79, for its second win in 10 outings.

Willy Wilson led the scoring with 26 points, personally showing the door to John O, which absorbed its sixth loss against four wins.