MANILA, Philippines – Arvie Bringas rarely attempts a triple and in fact, he only had one Tuesday afternoon.
Bringas’ lone three-pointer though, which went off his hands and swished into the net, proved to be the biggest basket in the game as Big Chill stunned defending champion NLEX 86-77 in overtime in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the San Juan Arena.
“I love this team because this team never gives up. We got NLEX at the right time. I think they’re still in celebration mode and we were so prepared against them,” said Big Chill head coach Robert Sison.
But this time, it was Big Chill which went into a frantic celebration as if it just won a championship.
“This is a very big win. We believe that we can beat every team in the league. Beating NLEX is like being crowned champion. I have to give it to my players,” added Sison as he struggled to find the right words to describe the come-from-behind victory.
The Superchargers fell behind by as much as eight 65-73 on a runner by RR Garcia, who had 10 of his 12 points in the fourth period, with 2:03 remaining in regulation.
But Garcia’s basket would turn out to be the Road Warriors’ final points as the Superchargers ended the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run to force extra session on a split free throw by Mac Montilla with less than a second remaining.
Garcia’s drive put NLEX on top 77-76 before Bringas’ three-pointer plus the foul as he completed a rare four-point play to give Big Chill the lead for good, 80-77, with 27.7 ticks left.
Bringas, who scored 11 of his 19 points in the final two minutes of overtime, wasn’t done.
Nuyles found Bringas streaking for the easy two to put the game away in transition 82-77 with 17.9 seconds remaining after Garcia missed a wide-open three.
“Bringas made every difference in this game,” added Sison, whose squad actually led by 14, 42-28, late in the second quarter. “Kahit sabihin mong wala si Sangalang and Slaughter solid yan hanggang sa dulo.”
Nuyles topscored with 22 points on nine-of-15 shooting from the field. Nico Salva and Eric Camson, who grabbed 17 rebounds, shot 14 points apiece for the Road Warriors.