Tigers push series back home for KO match

There’s just no quit in the Davao Occidental Tigers.

Gritty and resilient, the South division champions sent the MPBL Datu Cup national finals to a winner-take-all Game 5 after hammering out a come-from-behind 77-66 victory over the San Juan Knights Monday night at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Ex-pro Billy Ray Robles delivered a career performance with 22 points and 18 rebounds as the Tigers clawed their way back from a 10-point deficit early in the final period, before pulling away.

“Everyone in the team believed and that’s all that mattered,” said Davao coach Don Dulay. “We needed to do whatever was possible to bring the series back home. Now we have Game 5 at home. It’s going to be wild.”

The deciding game of the series is slated on Thursday at Rizal Memorial College Gym in Davao City, where the Tigers won Game 2.

“The crowd will be a big help and it would be nice to play in Davao, but definitely it still depends on us,” said Dulay.

The Knights grabbed a 57-47 advantage a minute into the final period, but play was stopped for five minutes after a bottle of water was thrown on the floor.