Che’Lu Bar and Grill rallied to squeak past Go for Gold, 100-96, to gain a headstart in the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Finals Thursday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Jeff Viernes rallied Che’Lu from 15 points down by pouring 27 of his 34 points in the second half to power the top-seeded Revellers, who took a 1-0 start in the best-of-five series.
Viernes also had eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals as Che’Lu laid to waste the all-around performance of Gab Banal, who punched in 24 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists.
Game 2 is slated Tuesday.
“They simply didn’t want to lose,” said coach Stevenson Tiu of his wards. “No one wanted to back down.”
Viernes came through with seven of the last eight points of his team, before missing two free throws that left the door open for Go for Gold.
But Jai Reyes botched a potential game-tying triple and Chris Bitoon converted a strip at the stripe to ice the game.