WANG’S Basketball held strong and pulled off a 98-93 upset of AMA Online Education on Monday in the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League Aspirants’ Cup at JCSGO Gym in Cubao.
Von Tambeling paced the Couriers with 21 points as he went on a 5-of-8 clip from downtown to go with his seven rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Rey Publico fired eight of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, while also hauling 11 boards to end their five-game slide.
John Tayongtong also registered 16 points and five rebounds, Marlon Gomez got 16 points and Mark Montuano fired 14 in the victory, which the Couriers dedicated to team owner and birthday celebrant Alexander Wang.
“I challenged the players to beat a team with reputation,” said Coach Pablo Lucas, as his side improved to a 2-5 won-lost record.
Wang’s posted a 15-point lead, 46-31, early in the second quarter before a Jeron Teng-led rally got the Titans back in the game and knotted the score at 78 in the fourth frame.
But the Couriers already learned their lesson, calming the fort before unfurling a 9-0 blast to erect an 87-78 advantage as Tayongtong, Publico and Gomez all did their part to fend off the Titans.
“We learned a lot from our last game,” said Lucas, citing Wangs’s 97-96 meltdown to Batangas last Tuesday. “This time, we made sure we’d win.”
It was a disappointing loss for AMA, which welcomed back Teng after his week-long stint with Mighty Sports in Dubai.
Teng led his side with 25 points and seven rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Titans fell to 5-3 and saw their three-game streak cut short.
Juami Tiongson also got 21 points, two boards and two assists, while Jay-R Taganas registered 14 points and 18 rebounds in the loss.