San Juan overpowers finals nemesis Davao Occidental in anti-climatic fashion

ILOILO -- The much-awaited, explosive rematch between the two protagonists of last season's finale turned out to be anti-climatic.

In the end, reigning champion San Juan Knights-Go For Gold came out with plenty to spare as they blitzed past their rivals, the Davao Occidental Tigers, 84-65, Saturday night here at the University of San Agustin Gym.

In one lonely stretch bridging the first and second periods, the Knights held their rivals to just a lone field goal for nearly 10 minutes and that long drought allowed the most explosive team in the league to rip the game apart. San Juan established a 43-17 lead with still four minutes left in the second period and never looked back from there.

San Juan improved its win-loss record to 23-3 to keep its firm grip of the solo lead in the fastest growing regional amateur basketball league in the country put up by Senator Manny Pacquiao with PBA legend and former MVP Kenneth Duremdes serving as commissioner. The Knights' latest victory also halted the Tigers' five-game winning run as Davao Occidental absorbed only its fourth loss in 25 games to continuously keep the solo lead in the southern division.