Gilas Pilipinas caught fire from downtown and nipped Blackwater, 105-101, in their tuneup game Friday at Meralco Gym.
Carl Bryan Cruz had the hot hand, draining 22 points, 11 in the fourth period, including three treys in the final 5:28 to ignite the Nationals’ huge finishing kick.
The hardworking Alaska forward nailed the go-ahead trey with 2:21 to give Gilas a 98-95 lead, and made two of his three freebies to extend the lead to five with 1:38 to play.
Christian Standhardinger added 13 markers, while Mike Myers chipped in 12 points in the win.
Gilas also beat NLEX, 113-112, in its first tuneup game on Wednesday.
The Nationals will face Alaska on Saturday.
Trevis Simpson led Blackwater with 23 points in the defeat.
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