THE DOWNWARD spiral continued for the Cebu City Sharks as they got beat by the Bataan Risers, 69-76, in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Datu Cup on Saturday night at the Ynares Sports Arena.
Patrick Cabahug ended up with 25 points and 11 rebounds but it was not enough to stop the Sharks from suffering their eighth loss in nine games, the worst record in the entire league.
The Sharks looked good early, leading by as many as 10 but squandered it all in the third where they got outscored, 13-22, to trail, 46-51, heading to the last canto.
Still, Cebu was within three, 64-67, after two free throws from Cabahug. But Bataan shut the door as Byron Villarias canned a layup and Jonathan Raymundo converted a triple to bring the lead to 72-64, time down to 2:09.
Raymundo led Bataan with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists while Villarias added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Jeepy Faundo also had 10 markers for a Bataan squad that has now won eight straight games and now stand atop the North Division at 8-1 (win-loss).