MANILA – William Mcaloney Jr. scored on a game-winning three-point play as the Cebu Sharks escaped with a 69-68 win over the Iloilo United Royals in the 2019-2020 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League at the Valenzuela Astrodome.
Trailing 66-68 after a basket from the Royals’ Rodel de Leon on Monday night, Mcaloney attacked the defense of the Ilonggos for a three-point play and surge the Sharks on top, 69-68, with two seconds left.
Mcaloney finished the match with 15 points to go along with nine rebounds, while Rhaffy Octobre added 11 markers and nine boards.
With the win, the Cebuanos halted its skid to
improve to a 2-3 win-loss slate.
From a seesaw battle in the first three quarters, the Sharks went on a strong
13-3 scoring run early in the fourth period behind Mcaloney, October and Edrian
Lao for a 61-53 advantage.
The Royals leaned on seven straight points from De Leon to come to within 60-61 before taking a 63-61 edge on a three-pointer by Al Francis Tamsi. The Sharks, however, regained the edge at 64-63 on a conversion by Mcaloney.
The Ilonggos regained the lead for the last time at 66-64 on a top of a key three-pointer from Frederick Rodriguez before the Cebuanos forced a deadlock for the last time on two freebies by Octobre.
De Leon finished the match with 20 points, while Richard Escoto struggled with just 11 points on 2-of-9 shooting as the Royals suffered its second defeat in five matches./PN
