Davao Occidental survived a fourth-quarter storm created by Novaliches, but stayed tough and held on to an 81-76 win in the PSL President’s Cup at the Caloocan Sports Complex Thursday night.
Six players ended up scoring at least nine points for the Tigers led by Justine Sanchez and Kurt Lojera, who tallied 11 points apiece while 10 points each were produced by Kelly Nabong and Mike Cañete.
Winston Ynot and Bonbon Custodio contributed nine points each as the Tigers outscored their rivals in points in the paint, 52-32, while also producing 23 points coming from the 19 turnovers of the Warriors.
It was the sixth win in 10 games for Davao, which found itself back in serious hunt for a playoff berth in this 19-team cast.
Novaliches fell below the .500 win-loss mark again after absorbing its seventh loss in 13 matches.
The Warriors actually outscored the Tigers, 22-14, in the fourth period and made a game of it in the payoff period.
They came within striking distance after RR Cacasejos buried a triple to shove the Warriors within striking distance, 76-78, with still 35 seconds left in the match, but Ynot answered back with his own version of a trey 15 seconds later that all but sealed the win for the Tigers.
