Welcoat shackles Viva, evens series

Welcoat blew what could have been a steal of a win in Game One. But it didn’t let victory slip away this time.

Leaning on a solid interior defense, the Paint Masters held the Viva-FEU Water Force to a PBL finals low output as they ran away with a 52-35 victory yesterday to level their best-of-five PBL Unity Cup series at one game apiece.

Cheered by a throng of supporters who packed the Pasig Sports Center, Welcoat gave Viva a dose of its own medicine — a suffocating defense that held the 2003 runner-up to a finals low 35-point output.

More importantly, Welcoat’s big men, led by the duo of Marvin Ortiguerra and Jay-R Reyes, shackled Viva’s most feared frontcourt rotation spearheaded by the league’s MVP Arwind Santos.

Santos, who was named the conference MVP hours earlier, was held to just eight points, which turned out to be the best by a Viva player in the face of Welcoat’s rock-solid defense.

"Nothing much has changed with regards to our defense. Maybe we just played a bit more aggressive this time," said Welcoat coach Carlos Garcia.

With its defense holding, Welcoat found its offense going, thanks to Chester Tolomia who atoned for his lackluster performance in the series’ opener by firing 16 points, including three triples, in an inspiring game that rubbed on to his teammates.