Imus sinks Makati further as Kingpins held to only 44 points

Jeric Serrano tallied a double-double for the Bandera. MPBL

By Ivan Saldajeno

STA. ROSA, Laguna--Imus essentially crumbled Makati for most of their MPBL showdown as the former walked away with a 72-44 blowout win on Monday night at the Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Sports Complex.

The Bandera clamped the Kingpins in the first half but needed a near shutdown at the end of the third quarter to seal the win and momentarily get out of the bottom of the Southern Division standings.

Imus played tight defense on Makati in the first 20 minutes, holding them to just 18 points, nine in each quarter, before opening a 17-point lead at halftime.

The Kingpins had a solid start to the third period by going on an 11-4 run to cut the Bandera's lead down to 10, 39-29, with 5:27 left in the quarter.

The Bandera, however, finished the third on a 16-2 run to completely crush the Kingpins even as the former began the fourth quarter on an 8-0 rally to open the game's biggest lead at 32 points, 63-31.

Jeric Serrano, Jessie Saitanan, and Mark Guillen each scored 11 points with Serrano adding 12 rebounds for the double-double to lead Imus, which moved up to 2-3.

The three big men were nearly unstoppable as Serrano went 5-for-6 from the field, Saitanan shot 4-of-5 including a perfect 3-for-3 on threes, and Guillen made 3-of-5 baskets.

Kenz Diokno hit 15 points, six rebounds, and three steals for Makati, which dropped its fifth straight loss after winning its season-opener.

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