Sidney Onwubere hit a clutch 3 as time expired to lift Racal to an 88-86 decision over Cafe France in Game One of their semifinal duel in the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League Aspirants Cup at the Marikina Sports Center on Tuesday.
Down two with 1.9 second left, Racal called time to talk things over. At the resumption of play, Allan Mangahas quickly tossed the inbounds pass to a wide open Onwubere at the top of the arc for the thrilling finish.
It was a tough loss for the Bakers, who appeared to have locked the series opener when Rod Ebondo hit a three-pointer that put Cafe France ahead, 86-85, with 1.9 seconsds left.
“I just heaved the ball,” the Filipinio-Nigerian Onwubere said.
Onwubere finished with 24 points, three rebounds and three assists.
The game featured eight deadlocks and 13 lead changes and Racal coach Jerry Codinera could only heave a sigh of relief that the opener ended in their favor.
“I sent my shooters and we’re just going for a decent shot,” Codinera said. “Good thing Sidney got himself open and Allan found him for the 3. I’m happy with the patience my players showed.”
Kent Salado scored 16 points that went with his six boards and six assists, while Jackson Corpuz chipped in 14 points and six rebounds for Racal.
Game Two of the best-of-three series is on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Ynares Arena in Pasig City.
“Hopefully we could build on this. But I’m sure Cafe France will make the necessary adjustments to tie the series,” Codinera said.
Racal battled back from an 82-75 deficit with 2:07 left and appeared to have lost the game when Corpuz swatted a shot than landed on the hands of Ebondo for the clutch three-pointer that gave Cafe France an 86-85 lead with 1.9 left.
Ebondo showed the way for Cafe France with 30 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Paul Desiderio had 17 points, four assists and three boards.