MANILA, Philippines — Rain or Shine’s Beau Belga led the PBA Selection squad to a come-from-behind win over the Shanghai Sharks Tuesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Belga had team-highs 16 points and nine rebounds but apart from his near double-double performance, he also came up with perhaps the highlight of the night that had the crowd as well as his teammates nearly falling off their chairs.
Late in the fourth quarter, Belga, who had it going from downtown on two-of-three shooting, faked a three-pointer that fooled his defender Zhang Yuan, who literally turned his back before realizing the ball never left Belga’s hands.
“Nagulat ako sa kanya tumalikod siya. Di ko alam ire-react ko,” said Belga following their 80-71 win. Tapos nagtawanan yung mga tao so natawa na lang din ako.”
“I think that was the shot fake of the year, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Chris Tiu, whose back-to-back triples helped the PBA to come back within reach after falling behind by nine in the third quarter, with a laugh. “Pati yata yung big man tumalikod… It was a nice way to cap off the victory.”
“Hindi siya kilala nung kalaban eh. Yung shot fake na ‘yun it’s one of the most effective,” Tiu, who had seven points, added.