By Jerome Lagunzad
Games Today (Pasig City Sports Center)
2 p.m. – CEU vs Che’Lu Bar and Grill
4 p.m. – Akari-Adamson vs Go for Gold
Backup Ralph Tansingco stepped out of the shadows of his more heralded teammates yesterday as Zark’s Burgers outlasted Wang’s Basketball, 95-93, in a frenetic finish yesterday to extend its win-run to four in the 2018 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup.
Tansingco drilled in 16 points, 11 of them in successive fashion in the third period, before tops guns CJ Perez, Mike Nzeusseu and JC Marcelino delivered key baskets that enabled the Jawbreakers to hold off the Couriers in a thrilling windup that put most of the sizeable crowd inside the Pasig City Sports Center on the edge of their seats.
The Cameroonian Nzeusseu highlighted his game-high 27 points with an emphatic alley-oop slam midway in the fourth period while the shifty Perez added 18 points and Marcelino sank the go-ahead floater with 63 seconds to play in what turned out to be a classic showdown between a pair of legit top contenders.
It was the 6-foot-5 Tansingco, however, who emerged as the unlikely source of production, especially in the third period where the Jawbreakers started to take control after trailing by as many as eight points against the Couriers early on.
“He’s really playing well,” said Zark’s Burgers coach Topex Robinson of his sweet-shooting big man who made six of his 10 attempts, including four triples. “He is confident with his shots and I want to keep on giving him that confidence.”
Ace forward Bong Quinto finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds while lanky Jeo Ambohot also delivered his own double-double with 11 points and as many rebounds but the Couriers still ran out of steam in the stretch and absorbed their first loss after three matches in the process.
The Jawbreakers improved their mark to 4-1, good for second spot overall, but they still had to grind it out despite leading by as many as 14 at 81-67 off Jeric Serrano’s baseline jumper a minute into the final period.
In the other match, Nigerian center Prince Eze stood tallest – literally and figuratively – as Perpetual Help sent Jose Rizal University crashing back to earth behind a solid 88-72 win.
The 6-foot-11 Eze asserted his might all game long, coming through with 24 points, 20 rebounds and 11 blocks in leading the Altas to their second straight win in three starts, tying their latest victims in the process.