The Batangas-EAC Generals survived a late surge from the AMA Online Education Titans to come away with the 97-95 squeaker and halt their two-game losing slide in the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Monday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Clark Bautista stepped up big in his second game for the Generals, with 25 points on a 5-of-9 sniping from threes, while also hauling down three rebounds and dishing out five assists in the triumph.
Clark Derige also started out hot, scoring 15 first half points before finishing with 20, while Cedric de Joya collected 16 points, three boards, and three dimes.
The win didn’t come easy, however, as Batangas-EAC saw what had been a 25-point lead, 58-33, go down the drain and dwindle down to a solitary point, 96-95 with 3.5 ticks left after an Andre Paras trey.
“Pinakaba pa nga eh,” remarked coach Oliver Bunyi, as his side rose to 2-3 midway through the tournament.
Luckily for the Generals, Oliver Arim’s split from the line was enough, as Irvin Palencia overshot his Hail Mary attempt at the buzzer to allow them to escape with the two-point win.
“One thing that is very obvious is yung maturity ng team, we have to develop that,” lamented Bunyi. “Coming from two terrible losses, it’s a good thing that we won this game. Baka yung confidence level namin, umangat ulit.”
Jason Jordan stepped up for the still-winless AMA (0-5) with his 20 points and eight rebounds.
The Scores:
Batangas-EAC 97 — Bautista 25, Derige 20, De Joya 16, Mendoza 11, Arim 7, Manalo 7, Dela Peña 5, Tabi 4, Mohammed 2, Harris 0, Saldana 0.
AMA 95 — Jordan 20, Matillano 17, Palencia 17, Soriano 15, Graham 10, Liwag 8, Paras 5, Garcia 3, Alao 0, Nakpil 0, Serrano 0.
Quarterscores: 30-20, 61-38, 79-63, 97-95.
