Games Friday (Ynares Center Antipolo)
9 a.m. – CEU vs EcoOil-La Salle
11 a.m. – Marinerong Pilipino vs Wangs Basketball @26-Letran
APEX Fuel-San Sebastian pulled off a tight 88-83 escape from Builders Warehouse-UST for its breakthrough victory in the 2022 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup Thursday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Rhinwil Yambing shot 3-of-8 from deep for his 19 points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals as the Golden Stags leaned on their 13-point cushion, 79-66, with 3:21 remaining to escape the Growling Tigers.”We survived,” said coach Egay Macaraya as Apex Fuel-San Sebastian saw its lead dwindle down to just five with 20.5 seconds, but heaved a huge sigh of relief after Miguel Pangilinan’s costly pass to Christian Manaytay in the final 15 seconds.
“Itong fourth talaga ang laging problema sa team, but everybody showed their character and everybody was playing defense. Yung composure, nandoon na,” continued Macaraya as his side rebounded from its first loss to Marinerong Pilipino last Saturday.James Una also registered a double-double for the Golden Stags with 16 points, 10 boards, and two assists, Ichie Altamirano drilled four treys for his 16 points, and Ken Villapando got 10 and six.
The Growling Tigers relied on rookie Kean Baclaan who produced 17 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds in their second straight defeat.
In the first game, Adalem Construction-St. Clare handily cruised to back-to-back wins after clobbering AMA Online by 34 points, 84-50.
Ahron Estacio fired 15 points built on three treys, Edcel Rojas chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds, and Bam Lopez nabbed 10 points, five boards, and five assists for the Saints as they rested NAASCU MVP Johnsherick Estrada in this tiff.
“Yung goal namin dito every game is kailangan hindi lang lima kundi 10 yung handa na maglaro sa amin, Hanggang dulo ginagamit namin so kailangan silang mag-perform not only sa offense but defense,” said coach Jinino Manansala as Adalem-St. Clare improved to a 2-1 record.
