By REYNALD MAGALLON
Kevin Quiambao stamped his class and led EcoOil-La Salle to a masterful 89-74 victory over Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda to once again reign supreme in the 2023 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup on Monday, June 26 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The 6-foot-8 forward’s imprint was all over the floor as he erupted for 26 points – eight of which came in the pivotal third quarter where the Green Archers unleashed a blazing 16-2 rally to pull away for good and win their second-straight title in the D-League.
Quiambao, who was hailed as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player prior to the start of the contest, caught fire from distance with six triples while also adding 10 rebounds.
Evan Nelle and Mark Nonoy provided support with 16 and 14 points respectively while Michael Phillips chalked up a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“We’re just really happy with how these guys performed throughout the tournament. ‘Yung core namin (from last championship), andito pa rin naman but what’s big here is the maturity of the guys,” said assistant Gian Nazario.
“We expected the San Beda fightback. We told the team we cannot skip steps. Di dapat namin isipin na champion agad. Most were expecting a blowout but we did not. We needed 40 minutes and we’re happy that the boys responded.”
With the Red Lions surging back into the contest after a strong finishing kick in the first half, the Green Archers unleashed the back-breaking run that turned a 44-all affair early in the third quarter into a comfortable 14-point advantage 60-46, midway through the frame.
San Beda, refusing to just roll over and die, kept itself within striking distance in the final frame behind the efforts of Damie Cuntapay and Jacob Cortez.
Quiambao, however, simply dashed all hopes for a Red Lions comeback after burying a booming triple that ignited another 9-2 spurt that stretched the Archers’ lead to its highest at 19, 85-66 with less than three minutes to go.
Yukien Andrada paced San Beda with 15 points while Cuntapay and James Payosing finished with 12 each in a losing effort.
