BOLSTERED by a fiery pep talk from no less than its team owner, Perpetual Help hurdled a hard-fighting Philippine Sports Performance and realized a lofty goal yesterday.
The No. 3 Altas turned back the sixth-ranked Gymers 97-90 in their quarterfinals duel to gain a semifinals slot in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Paco Arena.
Cyrus Nitura sizzled with 20 points, on top of five rebounds, four assists, two steals, a block and the dagger basket in the last 49.0 seconds for twice-to-beat Perpetual, while John Abis chipped in 19 markers.
Jielo Razon, John Paul Boral, and Arthur Roque also had 18, 15, and 13 points, respectively for the Altas, who forged a best-of-3 semis clash with second seed and defending champion EcoOil-La Salle beginning tomorrow at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
“Parang hindi pang-quarterfinals iyong laro namin noong una pero hindi kami puwedeng hindi manalo ngayon after our pep talk with our school owner,” Perpetual coach Saguiguit said, referring to Dr. Antonio Tamayo’s encouraging words that fired up his wards.
“It’s our first time in the D-League semifinals after three stints. It’s our first time to reach this feat so sana maging maganda,” he added.
Later, Wangs Basketball @27 Strikers-Letran eked out a 94-87 overtime decision over Centro Escolar University to also reach the Last 4 of the developmental tilt.
Kurt Reyson notched 27 points for the Knights, while Vince Cuajao added 15 and five.
Kyle Tolentino poured eight of his 11 markers in OT, including two big triples for Letran.
The Knights arranged a semis duel with top seed Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda University.
“Laging ganito iyong game namin pero Praise God lang kasi kahi paano, nandoon na kami sa semis. Luckily, nanalo kami,” Letran tactician Rensy Bajar said. “Sinabi ko lang sa team na hangga’t hindi tumutunog iyong last buzzer, may pag-asa pa at hindi kailangang sumuko.
“Nandoon iyong pride ng mga bata kasi tinalo nila kami sa eliminations.”
Wendell Comboy paced PSP with 26 points, while Jaypee Dela Cruz, Ian Yutuc, and Dariel Bayla had 15, 14, and 10 markers, respectively.
Ron Rei Toletino scored 25 points for the Scorpions, while Ajodeji Victor Balogun got 17.
