Going for gold, San Juan leaves undermanned Makati super crunched

Defending champion San Juan-Go for Gold didn’t waste any time dismissing a grossly undermanned foe and clinching a title slot in the 2021 MPBL Chooks-to-Go Lakan National Finals.

San Juan scored the first 15 points of the game, raced to a 47-point halftime lead and never eased up on the gas pedal to forge a 131-54 rout against Makati-Super Crunch on Wednesday at Subic Bay Gymnasium.

The reason for the 77-point rout? Makati only dressed five players over what its absent stars hinted on social media as a contractual dispute.

With its standouts boycotting the deciding semifinal match, Makati was left with its homegrown players. And San Juan feasted on that.

“I told the players not to look at who we were playing,” San Juan coach Randy Alcantara said in Filipino. “And they showed that they did not relax. They really made an effort to make it a convincing win.”

Ced Pelayo drained a triple with under five minutes to play to give San Juan its biggest lead in the game, 119-41.

Mike Ayonayon cruised to a triple double, netting 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for the Knights, who will face the winner of the Davao-Basilan knockout semifinal duel for the crown.