CENTRO Escolar University got its bearings back just in time and was rewarded with handsome dividends yesterday.
Banking on a furious finish, the Scorpions turned back Go Torakku-St. Clare 73-69 for their second straight win in the PBA D-League Aspirant’s Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The CEU players sported forlorn faces after they squandered an early 15-point lead and trailed by as many as six in the waning minutes.
But they did not lose faith and persevered, unleashing a telling 12-2 windup to pull off the hard-earned win that hiked their card to 2-1 for third.
Scorpions coach Jeff Perlas gushed at his troops’ resolve.
“We just said na kaya pa. Kaya pa ito. I love my boys up to the point na may times na hindi na namin alam gagawin kasi magulo na but at the end of the day, I really trust them to do something special sa dulo,” Perlas said. “Actually, since I came here sa CEU, hindi pa namin natatalo ang St. Clare sa kahit anong liga.
“I just said to the team that we really need to win against St. Clare. It’s a big win for us and it gives us a chance at the top two,” he added.
Franz Ray Diaz showed the way for CEU with 18 points and five assists, but it was Daniel Marcelo who saved the day by scoring 12 of his 16 markers in the shaky payoff period.
Marcelo drained a big trey inside the last two minutes before converting the go-ahead-and-one bucket in the last 41 ticks to help the Scorpions erase a 61-67 deficit and stay in the race for an outright semifinals berth.
CEU, fresh from a 126-91 win over Keanzel Basketball last week, raced to an early 24-9 edge only to nearly fall to a gritty St. Clare fightback.
Go Torakku-St. Clare razed the Scorpions advantage and forged a 52-all count entering the fourth quarter and grabbed the lead 62-56 after a Megan Galang trey.
Go Torakku-St. Clare was still in command, 67-61, after yet another Galang triple in the 2:45 mark but that was their last stand as CEU retaliated with 10 unanswered points capped by Marcelo’s and-one and Diaz’s floater for a 71-67 lead with seven seconds to go.
