The Wangs Basketball-Letran Couriers had just enough in the end game to clip the Go for Gold Scratchers, 91-88, Monday afternoon at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao.
Bong Quinto poured eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, including the game-sealing foul shots in the last 8.2 seconds, while also grabbing nine rebounds and dishing five assists, as the Couriers fended off the Scratchers’ belated rally.
The senior swingman guided Wangs-Letran to erect a 15-point lead, 79-64, with 6:04 remaining in the game, before his cool shooting from the charity stripe averted the meltdown for his side after Go for Gold staged a backbreaking 16-4 run to chip the lead down to one, 89-88 with 11.4 ticks left.
“Ang dami naming tinapon na crucial possessions. Luckily, nag-prevail pa rin yung defense namin sa dulo,” said coach Jeff Napa.
After Quinto’s freebies to make it a three-point game, the Scratchers had one last chance to force overtime, but Justin Gutang muffed his triple at the buzzer as the Couriers came away with the victory.
Rey Publico chipped in 14 markers, nine boards, and three blocks, while Bonbon Batiller got 12 for Wangs-Letran, which annexed their winning streak to three and rose to 5-2.
Yankie Haruna fired 20 points and seven rebounds for Go for Gold, while the debuting Paul Desiderio had 15 markers on a 3-of-7 shooting from threes.
The Scratchers dropped to a 4-5 record.
The Scores:
Wangs-Letran 91 — Quinto 17, Publico 14, Batiller 12, Mandreza 10, Fajarito 8, Muyang 8, Ambohot 7, Balanza 7, Calvo 6, Taladua 2, Yu 0.
Go for Gold 88 — Haruna 20, Desiderio 15, Alejandro 13, Gutang 13, Dixon 8, Leutcheu 8, Naboa 5, Pasturan 3, Salem 3, Gaco 0.
Quarterscores: 20-18, 43-48, 68-62, 91-88.
