Pampanga Governor Delta Pineda (center) along with the players from Pasig and Pampanga, and PSL organizers during the opening cermeony of the PSL 21U Luzon leg on Wednesday evening at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando City, Pampanga. | Photo from the PSL
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Immaculada Concepcion College (ICC) Bluehawks and the Pasig Cocolife Pirates got off to a rousing start in the opening of the Pilipinas Super League (PSL) 21U Luzon leg on Wednesday night at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando City, Pampanga.
The ICC Bluehawks defeated the heavily-favored Luid One Kapampangan, 78-70, in the opening game on Wednesday evening, while the Pirates edged Pampanga Delta, 81-75, in the second game.
In the first game, the Bluehawks took advantage as the last-minute replacement opponent for Luid One Kapampangan after the latter’s supposed opponent, the Mapua Cardinals have been defaulted.
The Bulacan-based Bluehawks stunned the Kapampangans by grabbing a six-point lead, 23-17, in the first period amidst the roaring home crowd cheering for their team.
The Bluehawks increased their lead to 13 in heading into half time. They maintained their considerable lead until the final buzzer with Edrian Ramirez leading the team with 17 markers, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal.
Ian Torres chipped in 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals.
Lhancer Khan almost had a double-double outing after scoring 16, while grabbing 9 rebounds along with 3 assists, 8 steals, and 3 blocks. However, it wasn’t enough to give his team the victory.
In the second game, the Pirates’ Sonny Estel and Jonnel Policarpio worked together to beat the Deltas with their dominant performances.
Estil tallied 25 points and stuffed the stat sheet with four rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and one steal. Policarpio dominated the painted area with his double-double performance of 18 points, 18 boards, six assists, one block, and three steals.
Justin Bautista wasted his 16 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals for the losing squad.
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