RUDY Lingganay had 16 points as Pasig-Sta. Lucia became the Pool A winners following a 86-61 dismantling of Bacolod in the Chooks-to-Go MPBL Invitational powered by TM yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Extending their perfect run to four matches, the Realtors have clinched the top ranking in the pool they are tipped to dominate.

Pasig, which will shoot for a five-game sweep against also-ran Negros tomorrow, has joined group mate Iloilo and Pool C’s San Juan and Nueva Ecija in the quarterfinals.

Coach Bong dela Cruz knows the tough task ahead that the Realtors are looking forward with when they face either the Knights or the Rice Vanguards in the quarters.

“Sa tingin ko yung quarterfinals nandiyan na sa amin yun. Paghahandaan na lang namin yung makakalaban namin sa next round,” said Dela Cruz.

In other games, Mindoro forced a three-way tie with Manila and Imus in first place in Pool D following a narrow 86-83 victory over Rizal.

RJ Ramirez pumped in 22 points as Gen Sen finally notched its first win in Pool D with a 90-82 conquest of Bulacan.

The Ballers, who ended their campaign with a 3-2 card, were eliminated in the knockout stage. Bacolod does not hold the advantage in the tiebreaker, having lost to Iloilo and Pasig.

With Lingganay leading the charge, Pasig raced to a 20-9 lead and never looked back.

Jeckster Apinan had a double-double outing of 14 points and 10 rebounds to go with five assists while Justin Arana and Cedrick Ablaza each had 13 points for the Realtors.

The Golden Coolers tried to force overtime, but Andrian Celada missed a three-pointer in the dwindling seconds, allowing the Tamaraws to raise their record to 3-1 for a share of the Pool D lead.

“It’s a character building win for us going to our last game tomorrow (today) against Gen San. Na-bail out kami ni Jeramer (Cabanag),” said Mindoro coach Britt Reroma.

Cabanag scored all of his 23 points in the second half for the Tamaraws, who drew 11 points and nine rebounds from Allen Liwag.

The already-eliminated Warriors dragged the Kuyas in early vacation by ending a three-game losing skid, tying their victims in fourth place in Pool D.

Pamboy Raymundo added 18 points and seven assists while Edzel Mag-isa was the other Gen San in double figures with 10 points.

Unlike their first three games, the Warriors did not remain persistent up to the very end.

“Thankful for the win and we just wished that we were able to start the tournament as strong as this,” said GenSan’s young Fil-Am guard Ramirez.

The scores:

First Game

Pasig (86) – Lingganay 16, Apinan 14, Ablaza 13, Arana 13, Yu 7, Costelo 7, Bautista 7, Teng 3, Mina 3, Peña 3, Chan 0.
Bacolod (61) – Dionson 10, Baiquin 9, Gonzales 8, Altamirano 7, Caino 7, Viloria 5, Guillen 4, Pastias 3, Montuano 3, Tulipas 2, Soriano 2, Colonia 1.
Quarterscores: 27-13, 44-25. 64-46, 86-61

Second Game

Gen San (90) – Ramirez 22, Raymundo 18, Mag-isa 10, Buenafe 9, Mondragon 7, Masaglang 6, Chan 4, Ongteco 4, Mirza 3, Pangilinan 3, Anderson 2. Apreku 2.
Bulacan (82) – Faundo 20, Hoyohoy 15, Caspe 15, Martinez 13, Dela Cruz 11, Arim 5, Escosio 3, Iñigo 0, Neypes 0, Marquez 0, Bacay 0.
Quarterscores: 18-27, 39-39, 64-61, 90-82

Third Game

Mindoro (86) – Cabanag 23, Liwag 11, Cosejo 10, Baetiong 9, Mariano 8, Koga 7, Caldozo 6, Castro 4, Mallari 4, Matias 2, Villapando 2, Saldana 0.
Rizal (83) – Celada 17, Serrano 15, Sunga 13, Benitez 12, Melegrito 11, Victoria 6, Saret 5, Rios 3, Matias 1, Acibar 0, Dela Cruz 0.
Quarterscores: 13-8, 33-30, 63-55, 86-83.