Cebuano Eliud Poligrates of Marinerong Pilipino drives against Jorge Sicat of Hazchem. contributed photo | PBA Images
Cebu City, Philippines—Cebuano guard Eliud Poligrates sure didn’t take long to showcase what his former squad — the Cebu Sharks — had been missing all along as he put on a show in leading Marinerong Pilipino to a 118-71 demolition of Hazchem in the 2019 PBA D-League Foundation Cup on Monday, August 5, 2019, at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The flashy left-handed guard had his teammates and the rest of the crowd on their feet with one incredible move after another en route to tallying a game-high 19 points to go with six assists, four rebounds and four steals for Marinerong Pilipino.
After the game, the pride of Poro admitted that he had a little more pep in his step as he was motivated to show off what he was not allowed to do when he was still with the Cebu Sharks.
Read: Poligrates bids Cebu Sharks farewell, to play for Marinerong Pilipino in PBA D-League
“I want to show them that they made a mistake. I worked very hard and they still did that to me,” said Poligrates, referring to his paltry 12.5 minutes per game with the Sharks.
Poligrates added that he has no beef with the management of the International Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IPI), which owns the Cebu Sharks. But he explained that he felt slighted over the lack of playing time.
“They just didn’t have any trust in me. As a player, I wanted to be out there and compete since I was away from the game of basketball for two years,” said Poligrates. “I’m just grateful that another team was willing to give me a shot. I didn’t even ask for a hefty salary because all I wanted to do was to play once again.”
Cebu Sharks big man William McAloney also had a stellar debut, tallying a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds to go with two blocked shots. Former Ateneo de Cebu guard Rev Diputado also had 10 markers.
The Scores:
MARINERONG PILIPINO 118 — Poligrates 19, Alabanza 17, Sara 12, Rios 11, McAloney 10, Diputado 10, Yee 10, Arim 8, Solis 7, Clarito 7, Juanico 4, Saguiguit 3.
HAZCHEM 71 — Matias 17, Acain 9, Caparida 9, Elmejrab 8, Trinidad 8, Dagupio 6, Sicat 5, Serrano 5, Adviento 3, Moraga 1, Ynion 0, Mendez 0, Arellano 0, Glorioso 0, Dela Pena 0.
Quarters: 26-16, 56-31, 86-53, 118-71./bmjo