Titans keep semis bid going, rout Dragons

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AMA Online Education stayed in the Final Four race after a 113-84 win over Blustar Detergent in the 2016 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Monday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

The Titans also recorded the team’s first winning streak.

“Record sa amin ito. Ngayon pa lang kami nakapanalo ng back-to-back games, nagkaroon pa kami ng chance sa semifinals,” said AMA head coach Mark Herrera.

The task, however, remains to be a tall one as AMA needs to sweep its next four games to at least have a chance to snag the fourth seed as the Titans currently sport a 3-5 record.

“Di na namin iniisip yung ibang teams. Ang iniisip na lang namin yung mga laro na makadagdag ng panalo sa amin,” said Herrera.

James Martinez was on fire, going 5-of-13 from threes to finish with 32 points.

Rashawn McCarthy added 24 markers, seven rebounds, and five assists, while Jay-R Taganas stuffed the stat sheet anew with 12 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists. Ryan Arambulo chipped in 16 points.

AMA used a 13-0 run to break away from the Dragons to hold a 21-point lead, 48-27, which would later balloon to 30, 109-79, late in the fourth.

Chun Hong Ting paced Blustar (1-9) with 21 points, while Juami Tiongson chipped in 15 markers.

Kuek Tian Yuan also had 14 points, 20 rebounds, and four assists in the Dragons’ fifth straight defeat.

The scores:

AMA 113 – Martinez 32, McCarthy 24, Arambulo 16, Taganas 12, Jo. Montemayor 10, Jordan 8, Ortega 5, Carpio 3, Asuncion 2, Belleza 1, Macaranas 0, Je. Montemayor 0.

BLUSTAR DETERGENT 84 – Chun 21, Tiongson 15, Kuek 14, Ma 9, Liaw 8, Teo 6, Wong 3, Choo 2, Mak 2, Palma 2, Yeo 2, Gan 0, Ong 0, Yim 0.

Quarters: 20-19, 54-40, 81-63, 113-84.