St. Clare outlasts La Salle-Araneta

BRT Sumisip Basilan-St. Clare clinched a playoff spot in the 2019 PBA D-League Foundation Cup after outlasting McDavid-La Salle Araneta, 112-100, Monday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Joshua Fontanilla led the balanced attack with 24 points on 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. He also had six assists and three steals as the Saints stayed unbeaten after four Group B games.

Irven Palencia added 14 points, Clarence Tiquia and Junjie Hallare had 12 each and Malian big man Mohammad Pare notched a double-double with his 13 points and 17 rebounds.

The win, however, didn’t fully impress coach Stevenson Tiu as BRT Sumisip-Basilan’s defense allowed the enemy to shoot at a 44-percent clip.

“We took defense for granted,” Tiu said. “There were moments when we let our guards down.”

Henry Iloka’s late assault allowed the Stallions to eat up what was once a 24-point advantage down to 10, 110-100.