Che’Lu zeroes in on crown

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Samboy de Leon hit the big shots late for Che’Lu Bar and Grill-San Sebastian as it pulled off a huge 107-103 Game 1 victory against Zark’s Burger-Lyceum in the 2018 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup Finals Tuesday at Pasig Sports Center.

The former Magnolia forward nailed the go-ahead triple with 1:19 to play that gave the Revellers a 104-101 lead with 1:19 remaining and took the air out of the Jawbreakers.

De Leon finished with 18 points, shooting 4-of-5 from three-point territory, to go with five rebounds and three assists.

CJ Perez kept things interesting with his two foul shots in the final 39.1, but that was quickly negated by a huge undergoal stab from Michael Calisaan with 28.8 seconds left, 106-103.

Zark’s-Lyceum failed to find its mark from that point on, as Allyn Bulanadi put on the finishing touches with a split before Ryan Costelo intercepted the ensuing possession to seal the deal for Che’Lu-San Sebastian.

Alfred Batino contributed 17 points and 10 boards, while Calisaan punched in 15 and 12.

Bulanadi and Costelo both had 13 points in the victory.

“Both teams deserved to win but it was in the end game where the difference was our defense. It was a good comeback for our team,” said coach Stevenson Tiu as Che’Lu-San Sebastian survived the absence of leading scorer Jeff Viernes, who was called up by GlobalPort in the PBA.

The Revellers won the battle of the boards, 60-48, while also going 10-of-25 from threes.

Che’Lu-San Sebastian has a chance to claim the crown in Game 2 on Thursday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

Jaycee Marcelino paced Zark’s-Lyceum with 23 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and three assists.