PAGADIAN. – Fifth-ranked Zamboanga City banked on its pesky defense down the stretch to beat Clarin 70-68 on Sunday and gain the upperhand in the first phase of the 2021 Chooks-to-Go PilipinasVisMin Super Cup best-of-three semifinals here.
With the count knotted at 66 in the fourth quarter, Jerome Ferrer emerged as the big hero for Zamboanga, scoring on layups off assists from Mac Cardona and Fran Yu to push his team ahead 70-66.
In the next play, Clarin’s Joseph Eriobu was fouled and calmly sank both his freebies.
Zamboanga committed a 24-second shot clock violation to give Sto. Niño one final chance to tie or win the game with a three-pointer with 19.2 ticks to go.
But the suffocating defense of JPS proved to be the difference, forcing Carlo Lastimosa to take a well-defended triple that hit the lip of the ring. John Wilson grabbed the offensive board but failed to take a shot as time expired.
“Our defense was tighter because we knew they have good wingmen with good shooting hands. John Wilson did not score double digits. That was a big thing for us,” said Zamboanga coach Tony Pardo.
Cardona played his best game so far in Zamboanga uniform with 17 points, five assists, four rebounds, and two steals.
Gabby Espinas nabbed his fourth double-double of the tournament with 15 points, on 7-of-9 shooting, 12 rebounds, and two blocks.
Lastimosa paced the Sto. Niño with 12 points but was a poor 5-of-14 from the field. Pamboy Raymundo scattered 10 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists but committed four turnovers.
