MANILA – Go for Gold-College of St. Benilde Blazers wasted an early lead before thwarting the Batangas-Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, 102-87, in the 2019 PBA D-League at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Justin Gutang scattered 20 points, eight assists, six steals and three rebounds while Filipino-American Roosevelt Adams added double-double 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers (2-3).
Ilonggo Yankie Haruna and Jeremiah Pangalangan added 13 points each as the Blazers bounced back from a harrowing defeat at the hands of University of Santo Tomas Tigers two weeks ago.
The Blazers had a strong start and went up by as much as 28-11 on inside hits from Pangalangan but the Generals countered with a run in the second frame to make it a seesaw affair.
With the score tied at 84-all in the fourth period, Prince Carlos surged the Blazers ahead with back-to-back triples before Gutang and Adams wrapped the game up with their hits in the endgame.
“Di ako happy. We’re up by 17, akala nila ang galing nila. We almost lost this game,” lamented Blazers head coach Charles Tiu, whose squad committed 28 turnovers in the game.
Allan Martin led Batangas-EAC (1-4) with 17 points, while Clark Derige got 13 points, seven boards, and two dimes in the defeat./PN
