HAD EcoOil-La Salle failed to wake up from stupor, a hard-fighting Adalem Construction-St. Clare side would have pulled off the upset axe yesterday.
But the Green Archers refused to wilt, carving out a thrilling 72-69 victory over the Saints for their second straight win and clinched a playoffs berth in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Prized big man Kevin Quiambao banged in a clutch jumper with 9.3 seconds remaining that gave EcoOil-La Salle a 71-69 cushion.
Adalem Construction-St. Clare’s Bam Lopez committed a costly inbound turnover in the ensuing play, forcing the Saints to foul Quiambao.
Quiambao’s split from the foul line in the last 5.4 ticks left the door open for Adalem Construction-St. Clare but Johnsherick Estrada missed on a left corner triple try at the buzzer.
Quiambao scattered a game-high 18 points, on top of eight rebounds, and six assists for the Archers, while Joaqui Manuel chipped in 11 markers, four boards, and two dimes.
CJ Austria also had 10 points for EcoOil-La Salle, which scored a fitting follow-up to its 94-87 triumph over Wangs Basketball@26-Letran two days ago and hiked its mark to 4-2 for solo fourth.
The Saints came off an 87-86 escape over Builders Warehouse-University of Santo Tomas last Thursday and dropped to 3-3.
In the first game, Builders Warehouse-UST bludgeoned hapless AMA Online 150-79 for its first win.
Nic Cabañero fired 19 points and hauled five rebounds for the Growling Tigers, while Willie Wilson and Angelo Crisostomo added 18 and 15 markers, respectively.
Sherwin Concepcion also notched a triple-double, the 10th in league history, with 14 points, 14 caroms, and 10 feeds for Builders Warehouse-UST, while Christian Manaytay, Kean Baclaan, and Ian Herrera had 13, 11, and 10, respectively.
The Tigers’ 71-point demolition of the Kings is the second-highest winning margin in the PBA D-League, behind Tanduay which smothered Zark’s Burger by 76 points in a 141-65 shellacking on July 10, 2017.
AMA Online, coming off a 49-87 drubbing at the hands of Marinerong Pilipino last Tuesday, fell to 0-6 and bid its playoffs hopes goodbye.
“St. Clare really played well, played hard. . . And they knew also that we were tied (in the standings). This game was very important for both teams, at least nakapasok na kami sa quarters because we started 1-2. It’s a big win for us. It was a hardly fought win, I would say the guys stepped up in the second half,” Archers coach Derrick Pumaren said.
