MANILA—Marikina showed that it can still win even without its head coach.
The Shoemasters banked on a fluid offense especially in the final three quarters to beat the Parañaque Patriots, 95-89, in their MPBL battle on Tuesday night at the Sentro Pangkabataan in Calapan.
Rysal Castro took command for Marikina with Tolentino serving his one-game suspension for his harsh reprimand to Felipe Chavez last week against Pasig.
However, the former Far Eastern University center prevailed in his de facto head coaching debut as the Shoemasters recovered from a slow first quarter and turned the jets in the third quarter to go ahead against the Patriots.
Marikina would hold off Paranaque's last ditches in the fourth quarter.
Marwin Dionisio led the Shoemasters, who moved up to 8-10, with 26 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Adzhar Udjan added 19 points, nine rebounds, and one steal.
Joe Gomez De Liano, not known for his perimeter game, put up 15 points on 3-of-6 three-point shooting, three rebounds, one steal, and one block.
Jielo Razon led the Patriots, who dropped to 7-11, with 17 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and three steals off the bench.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
.jpg)
