Gamboa-St. Clare escapes Zark's-Lyceum after bizarre finale to OT thriller

Trevis Jackson's technical free throw with barely a second left won it for the Coffee Lovers. PBA Media Bureau
By Dugout Philippines

QUEZON CITY--Trevis Jackson made a technical free throw with 0.9 left to lift Gamboa Coffee Mix-St. Clare to 107-106 overtime win over Zark's Burger-Lyceum on Tuesday in the PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup at the JCSGO Gym.

It was a frustrating defeat for the Jawbreakers who threw away the game on a reckless decision.

CJ Perez tied the game for Zark's Burger-Lyceum at 106-all with 9.5 seconds left in the extra period and the Jawbreakers had a chance to win or forced another extra session when Gamboa's Aris Dionisio badly missed on a three-point attempt.

It looked like the game was headed to second OT when Jaycee Marcelino cornered the rebound with nine tenth of a second left on the game clock. But to the horror of coach Topex Robinson, Jaycee quickly sued for time.

It turned out Zark's Burger-Lyceum had no more timeout left so the Jawbreakers were assessed a technical that sent Jackson to the line for the winning free throw.

"It's not the kind of ending we want, but a win is a win," said a visibly relieved Gamboa coach Jinino Manansala.

Gamboa Coffee Mix improved to 4-3 and stayed in contention for a playoff spot.

Jackson eventually finished with 29 points, including 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point range. His triple with 9.5 ticks remaining in regulation tied the game at 93-all to force overtime.

Dionisio and big man Mohammed Pare were equally impressive their double-double efforts. Dionisio tallied 25 points and 10 rebounds while Pare had 23 points, 18 rebounds.

Perez led the Jawbreakers with 20 points. Mike Nzeusseu contributed 20 and 12 rebounds for Zark's Burger-Lyceum, which had loss three in row and fell to 4-4 record.

The Scores:

GAMBOA COFFEE MIX-ST. CLARE 107 -- Jackson 29, Dionisio 25, Pare 23, Bitoon 10, Acuno 4, Rebugio 4, Rubio 4, Alcober 3, Fontanilla 3, Ambuludto 2, Hallare 0.

ZARK'S BURGER-LYCEUM 106 -- Nzeusseu 20, Perez 20, Pretta 17, Ayaay 15, Ibanez 7, Caduyac 6, Jc. Marcelino 6, Santos 6, Jv. Marcelino 4, Tansingco 3, Serrano 2, Baltazar 0, Yong 0.

Quarters: 22-33, 50-53, 67-69, 93-93, 107-106.

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