Philippine Sports Performance’s Jayvee Dela Cruz. –PBA D-LEAGUE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Philippine Sports Performance debuted in style, pulling off a big 94-92 come-from-behind win over Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda in the opener of the 2023 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The neophyte squad pulled the rug from under the Red Lions as it sprung back to life from 10 points down in the fourth quarter highlighted by Ian Jay Yutuc’s go-ahead triple in the waning seconds.
Yutuc’s trey, which rattled out and inside the rim, gave the Gymers the driver’s seat in the last 32 seconds to cap a searing 19-8 rally from a 74-84 deficit midway through the payoff period.
“We’re happy to [debut well] because we came from (Pilipinas Super League) and we had a bad record there. We just built this team and we’re still developing our chemistry so it’s a good thing we won our first game. It’s a team effort,” said coach John Paolo Lao.
Four players finished in double digits for the Gymers led by Jayvee Dela Cruz’s 26 points built on seven triples. Dariel James Bayla chipped in 17 while Yutuc added 16 with seasoned cager Val Acuña contributing 15.
Dela Cruz added five rebounds, six assists and three steals to quarterback the offense of PSP, which also got ample coaching lift from Lao’s assistants in PBA players Jericho Cruz (SMB), CJ Perez (SMB) and Jackson Corpuz (Magnolia).
Yukien Andrada fired 19 points, Jacob Cortez had 15 while Clifford Jopia collared 15 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks in a foiled effort for the Red Lions.
San Beda, parading a young squad following the departure of its key players, controlled the majority of the match leading as big as 12 points and kept PSP at bay until the last four minutes.
Up by 72-64 after three quarters, the Red Lions appeared to be headed for an easy win before the Gymers banked on the experience of Acuña and Yutuc’s heroics in the homestretch.
The Scores:
Philippine Sports Performance 94 – Dela Cruz 26, Bayla 17, Yutuc 16, Acuña 15, Velchez 8, Gabriel 5, Olegario 4, Dino 3, Soriano 0, Cesista 0, Mohammad 0, Castillo 0.
Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda 92 – Andrada 19, Jopia 15, Cortez 15, Cuntapay 9, Payosing 8, Cometa 8, Gallego 8, Alfaro 6, Puno 2, Visser 2, Jalbuena 0, Tagala 0, LLarena 0, Royo 0.
Quarterscores: 27-30, 43-50, 64-72, 94-92.