Pacquiao, GenSan 5 lose ‘Liga’ tournament debut

MANILA, Philippines – As a boxer, Manny Pacquiao owns the world. As a basketball player, he’s almost just like everybody else. Pacquiao played 10 minutes and was barely a factor in the MP GenSan Warriors’ 63-59 loss to the Ilocos Sur Bravehearts in the opening playdate of the Smart-Liga Pilipinas Conference II on Wednesday in General Santos City. The Warriors had everything to their advantage going into their first franchise game – they had home-court advantage and inarguably the most prolific Filipino athlete in history. Except the expansion team just didn’t have enough experience playing competitively to pull off a victory. Expected to provide star power to the fledgling league, Pacquiao couldn’t immediately translate his success in the boxing ring onto the hardwood, registering only two points, four rebounds and an assist for the club he also owns. Pacquiao’s only field goal in the game was a fastbreak layup to give the Warriors a 4-3 lead in the first quarter. His only assist came in the third quarter when he fed Jaypee Locsin for an inside score that gave GenSan a 27-22 advantage, the Warriors’ biggest. Ilocos Sur responded with a 7-1 run to come within 48-46 at the end of the third. Ismael Junio (14 points) led the Bravenhearts’ charge in the fourth and Ilocos Sur took advantage of two successive bungled plays by the Warriors inside the last two minutes to seal the win. Bobby Pacquiao, the younger of the Pacquiao siblings, also finished with two points. In the first game, Sam Ekwe had 12 points and 17 rebounds and the Trace Laguna Stallions routed Edding ZaNorte Babami 84-73. Ekwe, the no.1 draft pick and a former two-time NCAA MVP, engineered a quick start by the Stallions who led from start to finish. James Mangahas scored 21 points to lead Laguna, while Zamboanga City native Jonathan Pareno tallied 20 to pace ZaNorte, the team formerly known as Zamboanga Amores. – GMANews.TV