St. Claire thwarts McDavid in PBA D-League

Games Monday
(Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig)
12 p.m. – Wangs Basketball vs SMDC-NU
2 p.m. – CD14 Designs-Trinity vs Perpetual
4 p.m. – UST vs Che'Lu Bar and Grill

MANILA, Philippines – St. Clare College Virtual Reality hammered McDavid, 93-82, to stop its two-game losing skid in the 2019 PBA D-League Thursday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

Malian big man Mohammed Pare and Darwin Lunor partnered in the Saints' second quarter pullaway that turned a 25-26 deficit to a comfortable 59-44 halftime lead.

Pare fired eight of his 22 points in canto, to go with 10 rebounds and three blocks, as Lunor had 13 of his 19 points in the same period, on top of 11 boards.

Junjie Hallare added 13 points and nine boards, while also giving St. Clare its biggest lead of the game at 23, 70-47, midway through the third quarter before the opposition reduced the deficit to a more respectable 11-point margin.

The Saints improved to 5-2, staying in the top four of the Aspirants Group and atoning for their tough 91-90 defeat to Petron-Letran last week.

That, though, is a thing of the past for coach Jinino Manansala, who is focused on getting his side make it to the playoffs.

"Kami naman, itutuloy lang namin ang trabaho namin dahil hindi pa kami sigurado sa next round," he said. "Marami pang pwedeng mangyari."

McDavid leaned on new recruit Ryusei Koga, who topscored with 19 points, as well as Harold Arboleda, who had 16 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in the losing effort.

The league newcomer stayed at the bottom of the standings with their 1-7 slate.

The scores:

ST. CLARE 93 – Pare 22, Lunor 19, Hallare 13, Palencia 13, Ambulodto 9, Rubio 7, Santos 3, Fuentes 3, Rivera 2, Fontanilla 2, De Leon 0, Decano.

MCDAVID 82 – Koga 22, Arboleda 16, Melano 11, Canada 11, Gaco 8, Lozada 6, Cruz 4, Colina 2, Sorela 2, Caranguian 0, Je. Villanueva 0.

Quarters: 25-26, 59-44, 74-63, 93-82.