By Ivan Saldajeno
QUEZON CITY--Rey Nambatac shot a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give MP Hotel-Letran a 107-106 upset win against Gerry's Grill-Cagayan in the nightcap of the PBA D-League Foundation Cup games at the JCSGO Gym on Monday.
Nambatac received a pass from Jopher Custodio and knocked down the go-ahead triple from the corner to complete the Warriors' comeback from 16 points down.
The Rising Suns led, 70-54, midway through the third quarter, but the Warriors finished the frame on a 26-12 run to close the gap to two, 82-80, entering the fourth.
Both teams engaged in a seesaw battle for most of the fourth period with Cagayan leading, 106-104, with 6.3 seconds left.
Custodio then found Nambatac for the game-winner to give MP Hotel its first win of the conference after back-to-back blowout losses.
Custodio scored a game-high 27 points, while Nambatac added 17 for the Warriors, who only won for the second time in their debut PBA D-League season.
Jason Melano, Michael Mabulac, and Abel Galliguez each tallied 21 points for the Rising Suns.
Box Scores:
MP Hotel-Letran 107–Custodio 27, Quinto 19, Nambatac 17, Acidre 16, Masaglang 12, Mendoza 6, Calvo 6, Colina 2, Escosio 2, Magat 0, Luib 0
Gerry's Grill-Cagayan 106–Melano 21, Mabulac 21, Galliguez 21, Celada 14, Trollano 13, Austria 7, Tayongtong 4, Rogado 3, Dilay 2, Flores 0, Santos 0, Arquero 0
Quarterscores: 17-26, 42-48, 80-82, 107-106