CORE Pacific 2000 threw a wrench into the plans of Choobi Bay Crab and Shrimp 91 as it handed the latter just its second loss of the tournament, 42-31, in Division B action in the PLDT SME Nation-Alfredo Gothong 21st SHAABAA Cup Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at the Ateneo de Cebu basketball courts along Mango Avenue.
Feisty guard Serg Al Go Bui carried the fight for Batch 2000 as he scored 16 points to help Core Pacific snatch its fifth win in nine tries.
A 10-2 start set the tone for Core Pacific as its stingy defense kept Choobi Bay from scoring double-figures in all but one quarter.
Dennis Que led Choobi Bay with 10 as it fell to 7-2 (win-loss), good for third place in the standings, behind the unbeaten AutoLAB 99 and Batch 97, which grabbed its ninth straight win with a 65-27 demolition job of GEF 98.
Walter Ong had 10 to lead 1997’s balanced offense, which saw 11 other players score.
GEF dropped to 4-5 and into a tie with Batch 95, which won over Ngohiong 1994, 55-45.
In other matches, White Gold Club 96 trounced Batch 93, 44-31, behind Junie Alejandro’s usual stellar scoring numbers, this time dropping 20 points to push the team to a 5-4 mark.