Warriors, Steel forge huge upsets

General Santos City and Basilan, two teams from the Mindanao region, pulled off shocking victories over their more fancied rivals to boost their playoff aspirations in the MPBL Datu Cup.

The GenSan Warriors overcame a sloppy first half to turn back the Bulacan Kuyas-Mighty Sports, 56-43, at JRU Gym in Mandaluyong.

Held to an all-time low 12 points at the half, the Warriors, who are supported by Golden State College, worked double time on the defensive end and limited the Kuyas to only 20 points in the second half.

General Santos forged a four-way tie for fourth to seventh spots along with Zamboanga, Bacoor and Laguna in the Southern Division at 4-4.

Basilan completed the night of upsets with a 70-68 squeaker over Mandaluyong, which lost at home for the first time in the tournament.

It was the fourth win in nine games for the Steel, who dealt the El Tigre their second loss in eight matches.