Defending champions FR Spoilers showed its supremacy as they defeated Western Union, 92-88 Sunday in the 2012 season of the Filipino Basketball League at the Palau National gym.

Leading 17-16 at the opening quarter, the Spoilers managed to outscore Western Union in the second canto by one point, 20-19 as both team closed the first half with the score tied at 36-all.

The Spoilers came in strong in the third as they spurted a 41-31 output to establish a 77-67 lead going into the final quarter. The Spoilers held on to their lead as Michael Bombita paced them with 24 points while teammates Coco Gonzales and Aries Echanova chipped in 23 and 21 markers, respectively.

With the win, the Spoilers takes solid hold of the top spot in the team standings with a 4-0 win-loss record while Western Union suffered its first lost for a 4-1 tally despite the 29 point performance of Dennis Castro.

On the other hand, team Choppers scored a huge upset as they bested a taller Ilocandia Bulls, 79-72. The Choppers rallied in the fourth quarter as they held the Bulls to 18 points only to secure their third win.

The Choppers went deadly beyond the three point mark as Bon-Bon Pramo waxed hot to keep the Bulls at bay. Pramo finished with 28 points while teammate Ewrin Gonzalgo worked his way inside the paint to add 16 baskets. The Choppers improved to a 3-1 mark while the Bulls are 3-2 with Joeger Supnet leading the scoring chores with 23 on the losing end.

In other games, Jaguars won over Rams/Guardians, 59-50 in overtime while D’Originals drubbed FR Spoilers, 77-59 in the master’s league.

Games will resume on April 22 with the Master’s League featuring D’Originals versus Ocean View at 11 a.m. followed by the Jaguars-Surangel and Sons tussle at 12:30 p.m. as Rams/Guardians meet FR Spoilers at 2 p.m. while the Choppers will face MJ Rangers in the main game at 3:30 p.m.

This year’s FBL sponsors are ATT Karaoke Disco Bar, Aqua Pure Water, Blue Bay Petroleum, Budget Mart 1 and 2, CTSI Logistics, FR Construction, GF Automotive, Hanpa Industries, HBO Company, Kabayan Restaurant, Kramers, MJ Trading, Ngeremlengui Quarry, Ocean View/ABA, Palau Curtain, PDC, Pinoy Express Remittance, Pinoy Restaurant, PNQ, Roll’EM Productions/OTV, Sams Tours, Sea View KTV, Shimbros Inc., Socio-Micronesia, Surangel and Sons, The Taj, VMJ Construction, WCTC, Engr. Bobby Pineda, Jun dela Cruz, Koki Beech, Terry Li Hong, Engr. Ogi Pineda, Engr. Ben Asuncion and TFCP executive and board officers.  
By Peter Erick L. Magbanua (Island Times News)