Wangs-Letran escapes Go for Gold to notch 3rd straight win

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Wangs Basketball-Letran staved off a late rally from Go for Gold to win, 91-88, Monday in the 2018 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at JCSGO Gym in Cubao.

Bong Quinto drilled the insurance freebies in the final 8.2 seconds to put the Couriers up by three. Scratchers’ Justin Gutang missed a desperation heave at the buzzer.

“We made a lot of turnovers. Luckily, our defense prevailed in the end,” said coach Jeff Napa.

Quinto fired eight of his team-best 17 points in the fourth quarter. He also had nine rebounds and five assists, leading Wangs-Letran’s 11-2 start in the fourth quarter to turn a tight 68-62 contest to a commanding 15-point edge, 79-64, with 6:04 remaining.

Go for Gold leaned on veterans Paul Desiderio and J-Jay Alejandro during its late uprising, staging a 16-4 run to cut the deficit down to one, 89-88, with 11.4 seconds to play before Quinto’s foul shots late.

Rey Publico added 14 markers, nine boards, and three blocks for the Couriers, while Bonbon Batiller got 12 in the win.

Wangs-Letran extended its winning streak to three to grab a share of the third spot at 5-2 with Marinerong Pilipino.

Yankie Haruna paced Go for Gold (4-5) with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Desiderio had a solid debut with his 15 markers on a 3-of-7 shooting from threes.

Alejandro and Gutang both had 13 in the loss.

The scores:

WANGS BASKETBALL-LETRAN 91 — Quinto 17, Publico 14, Batiller 12, Mandreza 10, Fajarito 8, Muyang 8, Ambohot 7, Balanza 7, Calvo 6, Taladua 2, Yu 0.

GO FOR GOLD 88 — Haruna 20, Desiderio 15, Alejandro 13, Gutang 13, Dixon 8, Leutcheu 8, Naboa 5, Pasturan 3, Salem 3, Gaco 0.

Quarters: 20-18, 43-48, 68-62, 91-88.