Aljun Melecio kisses his MVP trophy after leading his squad in the Slam Rising Stars on Sunday, March 20, 2016, at Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Aljun Melecio went into clutch mode for Team Punks in the Slam Rising Stars to get them over Team Hype Sunday at Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong.
With his team holding a precarious 98-95 lead, the De La Salle Zobel standout, who was named MVP, drilled in a dagger triple to seal the game, 101-95, with only 44 seconds remaining.
Punks coach Gian Nazario said he constantly had to remind his team of the level of competition which would eventually have a playoff-type atmosphere down the stretch after
“I just had to keep on reminding them ‘you know the tendencies of the players, they’re your teammates,’” said Nazario, who is an assistant coach of De La Salle Zobel.
Nazario added he knew Ateneo commit Tyler Tio would get most of the possessions in the latter part of the game and he was glad his players responded on the defensive end.
Down, 102-97, Tio tried to cut the deficit, but he only converted one of three free throws with a little over 30 seconds left.
Juan Gomez de Llaño had a team-high 16 points for the Punks while Evan Nelle and Melecio added 15 and 12 points, respectively.
John Lloyd Clemente had a game-high 23 points for Team Hype.