Javi Gomez de Liaño and Robbie Manalang paired up perfectly to help the Marinerong Pilipino-TIP Engineers halt their two-game losing slide with an emphatic 105-80 decimation of the AMA Online Education Titans, Tuesday in the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Gomez de Liaño uncorked a career-best 27 points and five rebounds, while Manalang chimed in 21 built on six triples, alongside three assists and two rebounds to help the Engineers start the second round on a winning note.
Senegalese big man Papa Ndiaye also registered a double-double of 13 points and 16 rebounds as Marinerong Pilipino-TIP improved to a 3-3 record.
“I hope the players will respond to this. We want to take this game a sa momentum-builder,” said coach Koy Banal. “It’s not gonna be easy, but if they will just listen and follow our system, maybe we could turn things around. That’s what we’ve been hoping for.”
Marinerong Pilipino-TIP started out hot, jumping to a commanding 29-12 lead late in the first quarter and holding advantage until the end.
The Engineers even took a 29-point edge, 87-58, in the closing minutes of the third quarter courtesy of a Trevis Jackson jumper, before holding off the Titans in the endgame.
Owen Graham led AMA with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Ken Soriano had 16 points and five boards in the loss.
The Titans remain in the cellar with their horrific 0-6 slate.
The Scores:
Marinerong Pilipino-TIP 103 — Gomez de Liaño 27, Manalang 21, Ndiaye 13, Jackson 11, Napoles 9, B. Santos 7, Soriano 6, Johnson 5, Medina 4, I. Santos 2, Matignas 0.
AMA Online Education 80 — Graham 17, Soriano 16, Matillano 14, Paras 12, Garcia 10, Serrano 5, Rivera 3, Jordan 2, Sabile 1, Alao 0, Barde 0, Calma 0, Escalambre 0, Nacpil 0.
Quarterscores: 32-19, 61-39, 87-62, 103-80.
