MANILA – Richard Escoto came alive in the fourth period and the Iloilo United Royals pulled off an 88-85 upset over Manila Stars in the 2019-2020 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Lakan Cup at the San Andres Sports Complex here.
Held to just a single point in the first three quarters, Escoto waxed hot in the final quarter with a three-pointer and an inside hit to turn a 64-72 deficit to a 79-77 edge on shots from Rodel de Leon and Cedric de Joya.
The Stars was able to regain the edge for the last time on Monday at 80-79 on a Jeric Fortuna triple before Escoto knocked down four free throws. De Joya and De Leon converted two-pointers to complete the come-from-behind win.
Escoto finished the match with 10 points, nine coming in the final quarter, to go along with 11 rebounds as the Royals surged to its third consecutive victory to improve to 7-4 win-loss slate.
De Leon top-scored with 19 points, Ilonggo Aaron Jeruta fell short of a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and Al Francis Tamsi had 12 markers for the Iloilo-based team.
The Royals got to an early double-digit edge with shots from Jeruta and De Leon but the Stars got its shooting going in the second and third period to keep the match close before surging to its biggest lead in the fourth quarter at eight.
Chris Bitoon finished with 20 points. Carlo Lastimosa added 14 markers, while Gabby Espinas and Ronnie Matias each had nine markers for the Stars, which dropped to 9-2 win-loss card./PN
