Clark Bautista shines as EA Regen halts Cagayan Valley

Joshua Webb (light/cagayan) vs Jimbo Aquino. Nuki Sabio/PBA

MANILA, Philippines — Unleashing its full attack, EA Regen halted Cagayan Valley, 103-92, Thursday in the 2013 PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Clark Bautista showcased his range and finished with 25 points on five three-pointers, while Raymund Almazan and Ian Sangalang threw their weight in the paint with 20 and 17 markers each.

“Nagtulong-tulong kami ngayon. Kasi siguro nung una nagkakahiyaan pa yung mga bata (The boys helped each other out. Before, they didn’t know each other that much),” said assistant coach Allan Trinidad.

The Delta improved to 2-2, but remains still far from the expectations coming into the conference with a loaded line-up.

But EA Regen showed a glimpse of how dominating they could be, leading the equally-talented Rising Suns, who dropped to 3-3, the entire game.

Almazan and Sangalang accounted for 30 of the Delta’s 55 rebounds just as Jimbo Aquino and Shane Ko added 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Trinidad took over the coaching reins on Thursday with head mentor Vergel Meneses sitting in the sidelines.

“Sabi ni coach Vergel ako daw muna, pahiyang daw muna sya. Pero sya pa rin head coach (Coach Vergel told me to coach the team as he sits on the sidelines. But he remains as head coach),” added Trinidad.

Diminutive guard Mark Cruz finished with 19 points and six rebounds for Cagayan Valley, which stayed within striking distance but couldn’t get the chance to take over.