D-League: Tanduay holds off Marinero

MANILA, Philippines - Lester Alvarez and Jaymo Eguilos canned in two charities at endgame as Tanduay edged Marinerong Pilipino, 76-74, to gain a share of fourth in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig yesterday.

Alvarez converted off a technical foul by John Lopez, who earlier tied the count at 74 on an undergoal stab, while Eguilos split his charities with 2.5 seconds left off Dave Moralde’s foul as the Rhum Masters rallied to frustrate the Skippers and tie the Batangas side at 2-1.

Alvarez finished with 15 points while Eguilos backed him up with 10 markers.

Achie Inigo logged 14 points while Julian Sargent chipped in 10 markers for the Skippers, who led by four at the end of the third but wavered in the end. They slid to joint sixth at 1-2.

“They beat Cignal so we used that as a motivation to not let our guards down. Slowly but surely, Marinero is getting there with its cohesion and chemistry. They also have veteran players. I wish we could have played better but a win is a win,” said Tanduay coach Lawrence Chongson.

Earlier, newcomer Zark’s Burger smothered AMA Online Education, 109-91, in a duel of winless squads.

James Mangahas and Clark Bautista combined for five triples in the second quarter to build a 55-45 cushion and the Jawbreakers pulled away in the fourth to notch their first win after three losses.

“We’re down 0-3 so this is a must-win for us. We cannot go down 0-4 and at least the players responded. We had a better chance to win now considering both of our lineups,” said Zark’s mentor Jade Padrigao, who also scored his first win in the league after his stint with the Mindanao Aguilas last season.