WANGS Basketball @26-Letran squandered a 16-point first half lead and nearly paid a dear price for looking past a gritty AMA Online crew yesterday.
Getting their acts together when it mattered most, the Knights carved out an 89-84 decision over the Kings for their second straight win and a share of the early lead in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
AMA Online took a 76-66 edge on an Earl Ceniza layup at the 9:33 mark of the fourth quarter before Wangs Basketball @26-Letran razed the deficit via a 13-2 blitz capped by a Kint Ariar basket that gave the Knights a 79-78 cushion with 4:22 to go.
The Kings last threatened at 84-85 on a Ceniza three-pointer in the last 1:01 but Wangs Basketball @26-Letran held its ground as a King Caralipio bucket with 37.6 seconds remaining and Tommy Olivario’s two free throws, only 7.2 ticks left, sealed the hard-earned victory.
In the first game, Marinerong Pilipino dismantled EcoOil-La Salle 84-64 for its second win in a row.
Caralipio scattered a game-high 21 points, on top of 10 rebounds and two assists for Wangs Basketball @26-Letran, while Pao Javillonar chipped in 17 markers and nine boards.
Brent Paraiso also had 12 points on two triples for the Knights, who trounced Adalem Construction-St. Clare 94-87 six days ago.
AMA Online, coming off an 82-101 loss to Centro Escolar University last Thursday, fell to 0-2.
Juan Gomez de Liaño notched a triple-double of 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists for the Skippers, while Jollo Go added 17 markers, four caroms, and three feeds.
Rence Nocum and Kemark Cariño also had 11 and 10 points, respectively as Marinerong Pilipino scored a fitting follow-up to its 86-74 triumph over Apex Fuel-San Sebastian College last Saturday and rose to 2-0.
The Green Archers came off a 112-82 shellacking of Builders Warehouse-University of Santo Tomas also last Saturday and slipped to 1-1.
“Kinausap lang namin iyong players. Number one, we have to respect our opponent pero down the stretch, medyo masyadong malambot iyong depensa namin. Parang ini-easy, easy lang namin,” Wangs Basketball @26-Letran assistant coach Rensy Bajar said.
