Defending champion EcoOil-La Salle set a new record for the largest winning margin by obliterating AMA Online with a mammoth 126-43 victory in the 2023 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup on Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The Green Archers raced to a blistering 34-4 start and never let up, securing an 83-point victory and shattering a six-year milestone. This surpassed Tanduay’s 76-point win against Zark’s Burgers in the 2017 Foundation Cup, which was the previous record at 141-65.
In historic fashion, EcoOil-La Salle now shares the lead with idle Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda, both with similar 4-1 records. This boosts their goal of securing a Top Two finish and an outright semifinal berth.
EcoOil-La Salle has one more crucial game remaining against Wangs Basketball @27 Strikers-Letran (2-2) next Thursday at the same venue.
All players contributed to the Green Archers’ scoring, with Ben Phillips and Raven Cortez leading the way with 19 points each. Bright Nwankwo, Francis Escandor, Mark Nonoy, and Aaron Buensalida added 15, 14, 13, and 11 points, respectively.
“Well, we weren’t really thinking about the record. It’s good that we surpassed it, but our focus was simply on improving. It was an opportunity for us to get better, and we discussed before the game not to underestimate our opponent,” said assistant coach Gian Nazario.
“Even though this happened in our game against AMA, we still believe there are areas where we can improve,” he added.
Earl Ceniza and Reed Baclig scored 10 points each for the also-ran Titans, who ended their campaign on a low note with a 0-6 record, being dragged to the wrong side of history.
The Scores:
EcoOil-DLSU 126 – Cortez 19, B. Phillips 19, Nwankwo 15, Escandor 14, Nonoy 13. Buensalida 11, Gollena 8, Alao 6, Abadam 5, M. Phillips 5, David 4, Estacio 4, Nelle 3.
AMA Online 43 – Ceniza 10, Baclig 10, Dela Rosa 5, Golloso 4, Alina 3, Cantoma 3, Del Pilar 3, Bentulan 2, Panlilio 2, Fernandez 1, Yambao 0, Silvarez 0, Geronga 0, Macaranas 0.
Quarterscores: 42-10, 80-29, 109-41, 126-43.
