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| PBA |
By Dugout Philippines
PASIG--Mac Belo made sure he will cap off a memorable D-League season with a title, and the conference's Most Valuable Player did just that, carrying Phoenix-FEU to a thrilling 88-81 overtime win over CafeFrance to snare the 2016 PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup in Game 5 Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena.
"Ginusto nila eh. Hindi kami nag-give up," said coach Eric Gonzales. "Pinagusapan namin sa huddle, pagod na sila at pagod na kami. Ngayon pa ba kami bibitaw? Sabi nila, 'Laban lang kami.'"
Belo took charge in the overtime period, pouring six of his 25 points in extra period, including the huge bucket in the last 55.0 ticks to push his team up, 86-78.
"Sobrang blessed lang namin at sulit na sulit lahat ng pinaghirapan namin," he said, as he added 13 rebounds, three blocks, and two assists.
Mike Tolomia added 15 markers, seven boards, and three dimes, while Raymar Jose finished with 11 points.
Phoenix-FEU battled back from 10 points down and set the stage for a back and forth battle in the last six minutes in regulation.
The Accelerators muffed their chances for a game-winner in the final 19.0 seconds, but Paul Zamar also could not get his floater down as the game went to overtime at 74-all.
But that was when Belo took control.
"Yun ang tinuturo namin sa kanila, na bawal mag-give up. Sanay lahat sila sa bakbakan at lahat ito, blessing ni God yan," said Gonzales.
Zamar poured his heart out in the game, scoring all of CafeFrance's seven points in overtime. Unfortunately, his team-high 20 points still wasn't enough as his squad fell short in the end.
Congolese big man Rod Ebondo chipped in 14 markers and 20 rebounds, while JJ Manlangit also got 14 points and eight boards in the defeat.
Box Scores:
Phoenix-FEU 88-Belo 25, Tolomia 15, Jose 11, Ru. Escoto 10, Pogoy 9, Tamsi 8, Andrada 4, Mendoza 3, Daquioag 2, Ri. Escoto 1, Iñigo 0
CafeFrance-CEU 81-Zamar 20, Ebondo 14, Manlangit 14, De Leon 11, Villahermosa 10, Abundo 4, Cruz 4, Jeruta 4, Arim 0, Casino 0
Quarterscores: 14-13, 32-38, 56-62, 74-74, 88-81
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