CENTRO Escolar University turned to Daniel Marcelo in the fourth quarter to survive from a third quarter meltdown and beat Go Torakku-St. Clare, 73-69, for its second straight win in the 2024 PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Marcelo scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and the Scorpions (2-1) used a 12-2 run in the closing minutes to silence Go Torakku-St. Clare and stay in contention for a semifinal berth.
"We just said na kaya pa. Kaya pa ito. I love my boys up to the point na may times na hindi na namin alam gagawin kasi magulo na, but at the end of the day, I really trust them to do something special sa dulo," said CEU coach Jeff Perlas.
"Actually, since I came here sa CEU, di pa namin natatalo ang St. Clare sa kahit anong liga. I just said to the team na we really need to win against St. Clare. It's a big win for us and it gives a chance sa Top 2."
Coming off a 126-91 win over Keanzel Basketball last week, CEU stormed to a 24-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and held off a fiery rally by Go Torakku-St. Clare in the second to stay ahead at 41-30.
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But the Scorpions shot just 4 of 14 in the third quarter and Go Torakku-St. Clare outscored its opponents, 22-11, to the tie the game at 56-all entering the fourth.
Go Torakku-St. Clare grabbed the lead on triple by Megan Galang at 62-56 and was still on top at 67-61 lead with 2:45 left but couldn't hold on to it.
Marcelo completed a three-point play and Frank Ray Diaz scored on a floater as CEU went on a 10-0 blast to steal the victory.
Diaz led the way for CEU with 18 points and five assists.
Galang eventually finished with 19 points, Babacar Ndong tallied 14 points and 13 rebounds while John Mark Estacio and Ryan Isaac Sual had 10 apiece for Go Torakku-St. Clare, which went down to its third straight defeat. (JBU)
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The Scores:
CEU 73 - Diaz 18, Marcelo 16, Malicana 7, Serrano 6, Olusesi 5, Gamboa 5, Bernabe 4, Mendoza 4, Puray 3, Darbin 3, Guevarra 2, De Guzman 0, Santos 0.
Go Torakku-St. Clare 69 - Galang 19, Ndong 14, Estacio 10, Sual 10, Cabauatan 9, Burgos 6, Yu 1, Tapenio 0, Pe?aga 0, Decano 0, Angeles 0.
Quarterscores: 22-9, 41-30, 52-52, 73-69.
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