The Smart Sports Scribes denied the Capital1 Solar Boys a perfect opening round campaign while the Say Chiz Smileys scored a bounce back victory over the Strong Group Athletics Press Row Bros in the 2024 Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Tuesday, March 5.
The Sports Scribes relied on Jan Ballesteros and Julio Sampedro down the stretch to complete a nail-biting 67-66 triumph over the Solar Boys, while the Smileys used a big fourth quarter run to keep the Press Row Bros winless, 89-77, in the third week of the tournament headed by PSA President Nelson Beltran of The Philippine Star and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
With Smart down by two points, 64-66, Sampedro showed nerves of steel and drilled the go-ahead three-pointer off an assist from Ballesteros to put the Sports Scribes up by one with 6.9 seconds remaining in the game.
After setting the stage for Sampedro’s clutch basket, Ballesteros, who scored six of the team’s last 11 points, came up big on the defensive end as well and stripped the ball away from Aldo Aviñante in the final play to seal Smart’s second consecutive victory and hand Capital1 its first loss in the tournament.
Backed by Danny Espiritu and Headstart Sports Academy, Ballesteros finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and three steals for the Sports Scribes, while AJ Bolando ended up with 17 markers as well to go along with 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. Sampedro added nine points, five rebounds, and three assists.
On the other hand, Aviñante paced the Solar Boys with 20 points, six rebounds, nine assists, and three steals while John Bryan Ulanday, who scored six points in Capital1’s 16-2 run to open the fourth, tallied 19 points, four steals, and two assists in the defeat.
Despite the loss, Capital1, which is supported by Mandy and Milka Romero, Bulakan Mayor Vergel Meneses, Uratex, and Rebel, still ended the first round as the top-ranked squad despite sharing identical 2-1 records with Smart and Say Chiz due to superior quotient.
In the opening game, Niel Masoy scored six of his nine fourth quarter points in Say Chiz’s significant 14-4 run to start the period, which gave them a commanding 75-62 advantage over SGA.
The Press Row Bros answered back with an 11-4 swing to cut the lead to six, 73-79, but it was not enough as Jonas Terrado, Cedelf Tupas, and Masoy delivered the finishing blows for the Smileys, who were coming off a 67-58 loss to the Solar Boys.
Three players from Say Chiz finished with 20-point performances led by Terrado’s monster numbers of 26 points and 22 rebounds laced with four steals and one block.
Tupas added 22 points, eight assists, and three boards while Jeric Lopez chipped in 21 points and five rebounds. Masoy had 13 markers in the victory that hiked the Smileys’ record to 2-1, good for the third spot.
Meanwhile, Dela Paz led the way for SGA, which dropped to 0-3, with 28 points and 11 rebounds while Eugene Flores registered 17 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
The second round of the tournament begins on March 12, with Capital1 taking on SGA at 8 p.m., and Say Chiz facing Smart at 9:30 p.m.
