Alvin Pasaol and Balanga Chooks suffered a razor-thin loss at the hands of Winnipeg AP in the qualifying draw of the 2019 Jeju Challenger, 16-17, Saturday.
Knotted at 16-all with 6.7 ticks left, Jelane Pryce powered his way to the paint. He then knocked down a tough lay-up over Santi Santillan and Alvin Pasaol to break the deadlock.
Pasaol missed a corner deuce, but was able to get his own rebound afterward. On his second attempt, however, Steven Wesley was right there to contest another Pasaol deuce as time expired.
Pasaol paced Balanga with eight points, while Santillan added six markers.
Though plagued by fouls all-game long, Balanga was able to keep pace with Winnipeg, even leading 12-11 with 3:30 left.
Wyatt Anders and Pryce though went on a 4-0 run to give Winnipeg a 15-12 edge. Pasaol and Santillan linked up to tie the game at 16-all with 50 ticks left.
Pryce had 11 points to lead the way for Winnipeg.
With a 2-0 record, Winnipeg AP advances to the main draw of the Jeju Challenger, the final qualifier for the Jeddah Masters. The Canadian club defeated Princeton earlier in the day, 19-15.
Balanga, on the other hand, will try to salvage a win at 12:20 pm when it faces Princeton.
The Scores:
Balanga 16 – Pasaol 8, Santillan 6, Dehesa 2, De Chavez 0.
Winnipeg 17 – Pryce 11, Anders 3, Wesley 2, Ayob 1.
