CHRISTIAN Fajarito led South Cotabato as it subdued Batangas, 87-76, on Monday to move within a win away of advancing to the South Division finals of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
Fajarito, who played only 16 of 28 elimination round games due to nagging injuries, posted 20 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one steal in 22 minutes and 57 seconds to clinch best player honors in Game One of their best-of-three semifinal series against the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters.
The 6-foot-6 former Letran star was supported by Marwin Dionisio with 10 points and Jammer Jamito who just missed out on a double-double with 11 rebounds and nine points.
Mark Cruz and Val Acuna added nine apiece as they led by as many as 19, 62-43, before cruising to a comfortable win.
The Warriors ruled the boards, 49-39, and converted more second-chance points, 28-8, than the Rum Masters, who were hounded by poor free shooting, splitting their 22 attempts.
In contrast, the Warriors canned 13 of 15 tries for an impressive 86.7 conversion rate.
Batangas got 16 points and six rebounds from Levi Hernandez, 10 points plus seven rebounds from Dawn Ochea and nine points, five rebounds and five assists from Jeckster Apinan.
South Cotabato bunched eight points to break free from Batangas, 45-32, late in the second quarter and never yielded the lead back.
The MPBL playoffs continue on Wednesday, Oct. 30, with games pitting San Juan against Caloocan at 6 p.m. and Nueva Ecija against Pampanga at 8 p.m. at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.
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