MANILA – Alvin Pasaol and Jerrick Balanza came up huge in the endgame as the Petron-Letran Knights defeated Ironcon-UST Tigers in the 2019 PBA D-League on Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Trailing 91-98 midway in the fourth quarter, Balanza came up with five straight points followed by two pointers from Jeo Ambohot and Pasaol to put the Knights on top 100-98.
After the Tigers tied the count at 100-all, Pasaol bullied UST’s defense with three straight conversions to put the Knights on top 108-100 before Balanza sealed the win with fourth straight points.
Balanza finished the match with career-best 34 points and nine rebounds, while guest player Pasaol submitted 27 points and eight boards for the Knights, which improved to 4-2.
Jeremaiah Taladua had a solid first half to finish with 13 points, while King Caralipio and Rey Ular contributed 11 markers apiece for the Knights.
“Sabi nga namin before the game, we joined this league to beat this kind of teams,” said Knights head coach Bonnie Tan. “At least this game, pinakita nila na kaya nilang mag-bounce back from a loss.”
Soulemane Chabi Yo finished with 25 points and 17 rebounds, while Brent Paraiso contributed 17 markers for the Tigers, which dropped to 4-1 in the Aspirants Group./PN
