JR Panel Beater Flattens Manila Motors

The winning streak of Manila Motors CMR has ended. And what a coincidence that it is the JR Panel Beaters squad that gave them their first loss, another company serving the pinoy community in the auto industry. I guess it wasn't that they lost but how they lost that surprised many.

The first half was close with the Panelbeaters up by 6, score at 47-41. The usual scoring leader of Manila Motors Kris Patriarca was not his normal self. Fresh from his season high 43 points the week before against his former team mates and defending champs Dimond, this time around he was struggling offensively. Making only 3 field goals and missing a lot of shots, the Panelbeaters applied special attention to him defensively. And to make matters worse, Ken Eldialde was also having an off game converting only on one attempt.

Start of the second half saw Darryl Burias explode scoring 14 points, accounting for more than half of his team's total output for the quarter. At one stage Jun Ablanida's team was up by 25 points. The final quarter saw Manila Motors try to stage a comeback. But this was repulsed by JR Panel's good defense and control of the boards. Final score 97-85. Burias top scored with 23 points; followed by MVP contender Ferdie Manuel with 21; and last year's finals MVP Dennis Lorenzo chipped in 16. Jed Evangelista top scored for CMR/Manila Motors with 21; Bong Eldialde had 18 and Patriarca got 17.

In the other game, New World gave Dimond a good fight by keeping the score close for three quarters of the game. Role players Edwin Carbungco, Carlo Bueno and Mark Yao dominated the rebounding department and gave the Roofmakers a needed boost to win the game 100-85.