MARINERONG Pilipino gained a measure of revenge and gave Centro Escolar University the boot in the 2022 PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup quarterfinals with a 75-66 win Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Marinerong Pilipino vs CEU recap
Juan Gomez de Liaño pumped 17 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, while Jollo Go got 17 points on 3-of-10 clip from deep, to go with two boards to redeem themselves from their 84-77 loss to the Scorpions last Monday.
More importantly, it set Marinerong Pilipino up to a best-of-three semifinals duel against top-seed Apex Fuel-San Sebastian.
"Nagkaroon talaga kami ng problema noong hindi healthy yung players pero masaya kami na kumpleto kami," said coach Yong Garcia as his side recovered from a two-game slump to end the eliminations.
"Di namin in-expect na magkakaganoon yung takbo ng team pero ang importante, naipakita naming maganda ang itatakbo ng team."
Arvin Gamboa added 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals, as Adrian Nocum tallied a double-double of 12 points, 10 boards, and six dimes in the win.
The Skippers, though, still had to fend off the repeated rallies from the Scorpions after the latter got to within three, 53-50, with 7:31 remaining, breaking away late to erect a 12-point lead, 68-58, after a Gamboa three with 3:03 left to play.
Jhomel Ancheta paced CEU with 12 points, as Lenard Santiago got 11 points and 11 boards in the defeat to end the team's unlikely playoff run.
The Scores:
MARINERONG PILIPINO 75 -- Gomez de Liano 17, Go 17, Gamboa 13, Nocum 12, Bonifacio 6, Soberano 3, Hernandez 3, Pido 2, Carino 2, Manlangit 0.
CEU 66 -- Ancheta 12, Santiago 11, Santos 10, Penano 10, Diaz 9, Balogun 6, Tolentino 4, Ferrer 2, Borromeo 2, Bernabe 0, Cabotaje 0, Malicana 0.
Quarters: 19-11, 37-29, 48-41, 75-66.
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