Defending champion and highly financed FR Spoilers managed to beat all odds as they went on to beat a tough Western Union, 108-102, Sunday in the ongoing 2012 Filipino Basketball League (FBL) at the Palau National gym.

The game was tight as both teams locked at 21-all at the end of the opening period. But the Spoilers broke away in the second quarter as they outscored Western Union with a 26-23 output to close the first half with a 47-44 lead.

It was a close game all the way till the final buzzer, but the Spoilers gained the upper hand as they outscored Western Union in the second half that gave them the win to take a 14-1 win-loss record. Coco Gonzales paced the Spoilers with 30 points as teammate Ting Mendoza added 25.

On the other hand, Western Union absorbed their fourth setback as they still hold solo second place in the team standings with a 12-4 card despite Nino Cajegas and Dennis Castro leading the scoring chores with 26 and 23 markers, respectively.

In other games, the Ilocandia Bulls fended off MJ Rangers, 101-76 while Surangel and Sons bested Hanpa Cardinals, 87-83.

Games will resume on September 2 with the last day of the elimination round featuring team Choppers versus Surangel and Sons at 12:30 p.m. while FR Spoiler will face the Jaguars in the main game at 2 p.m.  By Peter Erick L. Magbanua (Island Times News)