THE Author Solutions Philippines Inc. Hardbacks claimed its third straight victory with a 60-44 rout of the CTC-BPO Panthers in the Evo League division of the Tanduay Athletics E-Leagues for Basketball last Sunday at the City Sports Club-Cebu basketball court.
After a tight first period that saw the score tied at 12-all, the Hardbacks asserted themselves and dominated the last 30 minutes of the match to pad their win streak to three games and forge a three-way tie for third place in the standings.
Versatile forward Donald de Leon had 11 points, five rebounds and five steals while wingman Ryan Lauro scored the same number of points to lead Author Solutions.
CTC-BPO fell to a 1-2 (win-loss) record.
In the other Evo League match, the Shearwater Health Crusaders collected their first win of the tournament by defeating the Optum Knights, 56-48.
Shearwater’s defense stood its ground in the first period where it held Optum to a mere three points to erect a 16-3 lead that paved the way for its first win in three games.
Lucien Lumapas had an outstanding outing as he piled up a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds to go along with three steals and two blocked shots. Bryle Ampong backed him up with 10 points and six boards.
After a fantastic start to the season that saw it win its first two games, Optum now has lost three in a row to drop to 2-3.