THE Kapatagan Buffalos put a stop to Basilan BRT’s incredible winning streak, handing the reigning national champions its first loss in the tournament, 77-71, on Saturday at the Pagadian City Gymnasium.
The Peace Riders entered the game with a 16-game winning streak in the country’s southern-based professional league, sweeping the first conference 13-0 and was riding a three-game winning streak to start the Mindanao Challenge.
The Buffalos, though, had to fend off the Peace Riders’ endgame spurt to take this one.
Trailing by nine midway through the fourth quarter, Basilan scored six straight points courtesy of Jorem Morada and Dennis Daa to chip within three, 70-73. But Edrian Lao completed a reverse layup and drained two free throws to seal the deal as Kapatagan’s defense held on to give them the win and an even 2-2 slate.
“It’s a big boost for us to beat Basilan, we carry this confidence to our remaining games,” said Kapatagan head coach Jaime Rivera in Tagalog.
Mark Daanoy led the Buffalos with 21 points, 15 in the second half, alongside nine rebounds, three steals, two assists, and a block.
KD Ariar added 13 points, six assists, and four rebounds, while Lao finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.
Junjie Hallare paced Basilan with 16 points but was limited to two in the second half, to go with five rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Daa and Morada connived for 33 points but needed 28 shots to do so as the Peace Riders fell to 3-1.