PAUL Desiderio brought back his "Atin 'To" mantra and led Go for Gold to a pulsating 98-96 win over Che’Lu Bar and Grill in Game 3 of the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Finals on Thursday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Taking matters into his own hands, the audacious Cebuano scored on a drive with 3.4 seconds remaining that proved the game-winner as the Scratchers stopped the Revellers’ desperation play on the other end.
“I rode with Paul. I said, ‘Bahala ka. Get the ball, do whatever you want, just take us home,’ and he did,” said Go for Gold coach Charles Tiu.
Desiderio dropped 22 of his 28 points in the second half, including two clutch triples in the final 1:05 that put Go for Gold in front, 95-91 with 26.3 seconds remaining.
Che’Lu, though, refused to die as Jeff Viernes scored on a quick two before Chris Bitoon knotted the game at 96 with an and-one play in the final 14.7 ticks.
That set the stage for Desiderio's game-winning drive past Levi Hernandez that put the Scratchers a win away from the title with a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five finals.
Gab Banal added 11 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, while Vince Tolentino had 19 and five as the Scratchers completed a comeback from 16-points down, 62-46 in the third frame.
“You have to give credit to the players. The only thing I told them at halftime is it’s a championship game. You say you want to win pero kulang yung effort. They were outplaying us and we couldn’t make shots. But in the second half, we said that as long as you play defense, you’ll start winning. The guys just made plays,” said Tiu.
Go for Gold will go for the kill on Tuesday for Game 4, still in the same venue.
Jeff Viernes paced Che’Lu with 23 points, six assists, and three rebounds in the defeat, while Hernandez and Bitoon both got 17.
The scores:
GO FOR GOLD 98 – Desiderio 28, Banal 11, Tolentino 10, Publico 9, Reyes 9, Dennison 8, wong 8, Porter 7, Salem 5, Canada 3, Gaco 0.
CHE’LU BAR AND GRILL 96 – Viernes 23, Bitoon 17, Hernandez 17, Collado 12, Melano 11, Taganas 5, De Joya 4, Siruma 3, Ochea 2, Sta. Ana 0.
Quarters: 22-21, 38-52, 63-71, 98-96.
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