March 21, 2019

St. Clare claims fourth straight win, gains share of top spot

ST. CLARE College-Virtual Reality gained a share of the lead in the Aspirants Group with 71-64 victory over Family Mart-Enderun in the 2019 PBA D-League Thursday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

The Saints collected their fourth win in as many games to tie University of Santo Tomas at the helm of the team standings.

"Bonus na lang yung record," said St. Clare head coach Jinino Manansala.

"Goal namin makapunta kami sa Top Four, and from there, talagang giyera na yan. Mas pagbubutihin namin sa nga ensayo. Ayoko magrelax kami."

Irvin Palencia set the pace for St. Clare with 16 points and four assists ass while backcourt partner Joshua Fontanilla contributed 14 points for St. Clare. Ray Rubio chipped in 11 markers.

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The Saints opened the fourth period with six straight points for a 59-47 lead with 7:06 remaining. They were never threatened after that.

"First half, medyo nanlambot kami, pero yung gusto namin na we get the ball, then attack, ginawa nila kaya maganda tapos ng game namin," said Manansala.

New reinforcement Joseph Kouakoa was the lone double-digit scorer for FamilyMart-Enderun with 11 points and seven rebounds.

He didn't finish the game though after sustaining an ankle injury in the third quarter.

Mark Gatdula flirted with a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds for the 0-3 Titans.

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The Scores:

ST. CLARE 71 -- Palencia 16, Fontanilla 14, Rubio 11, Fuentes 9, Hallare 7, Pare 6, Rivera 4, Lunor 2, Ambuludto 2, Santos 0.

FAMILY MART-ENDERUN 64 -- Kouakoa 11, Gatdula 9, Nunez 7, Presbitero 7, Vidal 7, Dela Cruz 6, Hayes 6, Gotladera 4, Mariano 4, Tancioco 3, Dungan 0, Oebanda 0.

Quarters: 13-14, 32-33, 53-47, 71-64.