Wang’s Basketball-Letran turned to Rey Publico with the game on the line and the Couriers held off University of Perpetual Help, 88-83, in an exciting matchup on Thursday in the Philippine Basketball Association D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Ynares Arena in Pasig City.
Publico scored six of his team’s last 10 points as the Couriers dismissed repeated threats by the Altas, who kept the game close until the closing seconds.
Publico led the Couriers with 17 points and his jumper with 54 seconds left in the game gave Wang’s Basketball-Letran an 84-83 lead.
Prince Eze made it a one-point game with seven seconds later before Bonbon Batiller scored on a layup and Bong Quinto made two free throws with 10 ticks remaining to close out scoring.
Quinto finished with 14 points, John Calvo had 12 and six assists while Jerrick Balanza and Christian Fajarito added 10 apiece for the Couriers, who improved to 4-2 won-lost to stay in the race for playoff berths.
It was a tough loss for the Altas, who absorbed their fourth defeat in six games. They had a sluggish first quarter, fell behind by 15 but picked up the pace in the second period to get back in the game.
Perpetual Help grabbed a 49-44 lead on two free throws by AJ Coronel early in the third. The Altas were still ahead with under three minutes left in the period before Fajarito hit successive jumpers during a 6-2 run that gave Wang’s Basketball-Letran a 65-62 lead entering the fourth.
The Couriers never looked back after that.
Edgar Charcos led all scorers with 29 points while Eze had a double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds for Perpetual Help, which had 29-14 advantage on turnover points and 54-46 edge on points in the paint. The Altas also enjoyed a 32-17 advantage on fastbreak points.