Alday sparks spirited fight as underdog Bicol forges decider

Alwin Alday (left) gives Bicol a shot at an upset against reigning South champion Davao. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

BATANGAS CITY—Bicol guard Alwin Alday is aware of all the talk surrounding his team’s chances against top seed Davao Occidental in the South division of the Chooks-to-Go MPBL Lakan Playoffs.

“Nobody was giving us a chance,” Alday said in Filipino. “Everyone is thinking that Davao was just going to roll over us and make it to the next round.”

The Volcanoes aren’t expected to be a stiff challenge for Davao, having won just 16 games, 10 less than the reigning South division kings. They also crumbled in the face of the Tigers’ relentless pressure defense in the series opener last Monday.

But with Alday knocking down big baskets down the stretch on Friday night, the Volcanoes sent their South division quarterfinal series to a deciding game with a thrilling 84-81 victory in front of a boisterous crowd that was rooting for the heavy underdogs at Batangas State University Gym.

The Tondo-born recreational league star spearheaded Bicol’s fightback from 16 points down in the second half. He scored five straight points for a 77-69 lead with 4:28 remaining, before splitting his free throws to restore a three-point cushion in the end.

“The pressure is on them so we’re enjoying the experience of being in the playoffs,” said Alday, who finished with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.

“But now that we’re here, we might as well give our all and grab the opportunity.”

Davao looked like it had coped with the absence of Mark Yee, who had to leave the game due to a knee strain in the second period.

But Bicol caught fire in the fourth quarter, erasing a nine-point deficit to start the period as another guard Jerome Garcia erupted for nine of his 18 points. Ex-pro Ronjay Buenafe also had 15 points and eight assists for the Volcanoes.