JUAN Gomez de Liano shrugged off his early struggles, finishing with 31 points as Marinerong Pilipino clinched a playoff spot in the 2022 PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup with an 87-49 blowout of AMA Online on Tuesday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
De Liano nailed three treys, going 12-of-25 overall from the field, while also collecting 16 rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and one steal to lead the Skippers to back-to-back wins for a 4-1 record.
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"Maganda yung sitwasyon namin ngayon but ang focus namin is one game at a time," said coach Yong Garcia.
Toby Agustin also fired 15 points and six boards off the bench, as Bryan Lacap had 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists to make up for the absence of Jollo Go, who was called up by Blackwater in time for the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
Marinerong Pilipino recovered from a sluggish start as it fell behind early, 13-3, finding their bearings in the next three periods to leave AMA in the dust as it led by 42 points, 87-45.
Toby Agustin and the Skippers improveto 4-1.
"Nag-start tayong flat kanina pero ang importante lang, alam natin paano bumalik at nag-stick sa sistema na ginagawa namin," said Garcia.
Nemesis dela Cruz had 12 points and six rebounds for the Kings, winless in five games.
The scores:
Marinerong Pilipino 87 - Gomez de Liano 31, Agustin 15, Lacap 11, Garcia 6, Gamboa 6, Nocum 6, Hernandez 5, Carino 4, Bonifacio 3, Bonsubre 0, Pido 0.
AMA 49 - Dela Cruz 12, Velchez 7, Fuentes 6, Gile 6, Pineda 5, D. Cruz 3, Baclig 3, Yambao 3, Kapunan 2, R. Cruz 2, Palana 0, Villamor 0, Romero 0, Ceniza 0, Camay 0.
Quarterscores: 10-15; 38-25; 63-35; 87-49.
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