John Ambuludto had the presence of mind late and dropped the the game-winner to carry the Wangs Basketball Couriers to a thrilling 88-86 win over the Gamboa Coffee Lovers, Tuesday afternoon at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The center from St. Clare College caught a pass from Tim Habelito and found himself open with time winding down, going up for the floater which trickled down the basket to end the Couriers’ two-game losing streak.
“Wala na akong magagawa kundi itira yun,” said Ambuludto, who wrapped the game up with four points and five rebounds despite playing through foul trouble.
Robbie Herndon went on a 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc to lead Wangs with 27 markers, as well as nabbing five boards and two assists, while Michael Juico chipped in 22 points, four assists, and three rebounds.
The Couriers lost hold of a 70-61 advantage early in the payoff period and even succumbed to Gamboa’s scathing 12-1 tear to trail, 79-76 with 2:30 to play.
But Wangs made the right adjustments late, as Herndon drilled a huge trey from the top of the arc to put his side up, 83-80 with 1:08 left, and also caught a lucky break with Mike Parala and Leo Avenido muffing four freebies down the stretch, which led to Habelito assisting Ambuludto for the game-clinching play.
“Breaks of the game yung panalo,” said Lucas, as the Couriers evened their record to 2-2. “Good thing that our players did not give up and showed their never say die attitude. Lamang o hindi they were just focused on the game.”
Avenido gave it his all, firing 38 points and nine rebounds. Acibar gathered 15 markers and eight boards while Mike Parala had 11 points and six rebounds in the sorry defeat.
Wangs looks to stun the Racal Motors Alibaba on Monday, June 26 at 3:00pm. Gamboa, on the other hand, hopes to end their losing skid when they face the Tanduay Rhum Masters on Tuesday, June 27 at 3:00pm.
The Scores:
Wangs Basketball (88) – Herndon 27. Juico 22, Arambulo 10, Habelito 5, Tayongtong 5, Ambuludto 4, Riley 4, Sorela 4, De Chavez 3, Asuncion 2, Montemayor 2, Bitoon 0, King 0.
Gamboa Coffee (86) – Avenido 38, Acibar 15, Parala 11, Acuña 8, Dadjilul 4, Jumao-as 4, Padilla 3, Riva 2, Knuttel 1, Arellano 0, Montuano 0, Vidal 0.
Quarterscores: 26-19, 44-40, 63-59, 88-86.
