BACOLOD – Robert Bolick scored a five-point play with 17.8 seconds left in regulation as Team Mark forced a 140-140 draw with Team Japeth in the 2024 PBA All-Star Game at the University of St. La Salle Coliseum on Sunday.
Bolick was fouled after hitting a four-pointer with 17.8 seconds left, with the NLEX guard scoring the free throw to tie the ballgame to the delight of a packed house.
Calvin Oftana missed a lay-up in the final possession of the contest to end the match in a draw.
Bolick was named co-All-Star MVP with Japeth Aguilar.
Draw feels like a win for Team Mark
The draw, however, already felt like a win for Team Mark as it completed a comeback from 32 points down after Team Japeth started like a house on fire with a barrage of four pointers.
In the end, a four pointer that ended up as a five-point play cost Team Japeth the game.
It marked the third time that the PBA All-Star Game ended in a draw after the PBA All-Stars versus Gilas Pilipinas showdown in 2013 in Digos, and the Mindanao All-Stars against Gilas Pilipinas in 2017 in Cagayan De Oro.
The 2008 edition, also held here, was also supposed to end in draw but fans insisted that play continue, and the South All-Stars beat their North counterparts, 163-158.
Mark Barroca’s team was already trailing, 140-129, in the game when he made back-to-back baskets before Bolick took over.
Bolick made a four pointer to slice the gap further to 140-135 before the five-point play he got when he was fouled by Oftana to finish the game with 13 points.
CJ Perez pours 39 points
CJ Perez had 28 of his 39 points in the second quarter, allowing Team Mark to keep the game manageable as it entered halftime down, 79-68, after trailing, 46-20, at the end of the first quarter.
Barroca had 20 points, while Calvin Abueva and June Mar Fajardo had 18 and 17 points, respectively for Team Mark.
Roger Pogoy and Marcio Lassiter had 25 and 24 points, respectively for Team Japeth after they made several four pointers in the first half.
The dance-off held before the game also ended in a tie.
The scores:
Team Mark 140 – Perez 39, Barroca 20, Abueva 18, Fajardo 17, Rivero 15, Bolick 13, Perkins 9, Tiongson 3, Jalalon 2, Hodge 2, Sangalang 2, Norwood 0, Castro 0, Yap 0, Pinto 0.
Team Japeth 140 – Pogoy 25, Lassiter 24, Aguilar 21, Malonzo 17, Tolentino 13, Romeo 11, Lee 9, Newsome 7, Oftana 7, Trollano 2, Pringle 2, Dionisio 2, Ahanmisi 0.
Quarters: 20-46; 68-79; 104-111; 140-140.
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