Che’lu Bar and Grill kept its playoff hopes alive after turning back Ironcon-UST, 92-80, in the 2019 PBA D-League at JCSGO Gym in Cubao.
Rey Suerte scored eight of his 27 points in the killer 19-0 fourth quarter run for the Revellers, which flipped a tight 70-66 lead to a commanding 89-66 advantage with 3:07 left.
Gab Dagangon was also solid in his debut with 17 points, while Alfred Batino had 14 points and six boards in the Che’Lu win.
“This is a must win,” said coach Stevenson Tiu. “I told the players that had we lost today, our last two outings would be virtual scrimmages.”
The victory allowed the Revellers to stay in the hunt for a spot in the Aspirants Group’s top four at 4-3, while dealing the Growling Tigers their second defeat in their last three games to fall to 5-2.
It was a sorry defeat for Ironcon-UST, that crawled back from an 18-point deficit, 65-47 and got to within two, 65-63, in the waning moments of the third frame.
That run, however, fell flat in the end as Batino and Suerte delivered the daggers in the payoff period.
Sherwin Concepcion fired 24 points on a 4-of-8 shooting from three-point land to lead Ironcon-UST, which squandered a chance to seal a playoff seat with the loss.