A relentless defensive effort by Davao Occidental bridging the third and fourth periods held Nueva Ecija without a field goal in a five-minute stretch.
That was more than enough for the Tigers to buck the ejection of ace player Justine Sanchez as they scrambled to eke out a much deserved 90-86 squeaker of the Capitals and set up a winner-take-all showdown for a semifinals berth in the PSL President’s Cup.
Now the Tigers and the Capitals, whose key members are no strangers to one another, clash in a no tomorrow encounter on Tuesday.
“Momentum? Medyo maganda yung momentum, kasi nga twice-to-beat sila and nakuha namin (yung una),” said Davao Occidental coach Manu Iñigo. “Pero need talaga naming pagtrabahuhan kasi we know naman na champion team yung Nueva Ecija.”
Sanchez, Davao Occidental’s most consistent player, was ejected in the game after a technical foul was upgraded to an unsportsmanlike foul for hitting fouling Byron Villarias above the shoulders with still 6:02 left.
Prior to that, Sanchez was already called for a technical foul after he vehemently protested a non-call at the other end while he was attempting for a lay up.
But like wounded Tigers, Davao Occidental fought back and came out more ferocious from there.
From the 3:43 mark of the third period until the 8:08 mark of the final quarter, Nueva Ecija could only produce one field and in Davao Occidental answered with a 13-point barrage as momentum shifted on the side of the Tigers.
One of those who stepped up big in the absence of Sanchez was Theo Joshua Flores, who pumped in 14 points, but the rest of the cast, including Kelly Nabong, came all locked in.
Nabong, who had a much publicized bench confrontation with Iñigo during their elimination round loss to Biñan, had a near double-double effort of 13 points and nine boards.
But when it comes to winning, both the player and coach shared the same vision.
“Competitive lang kami pareho,” added Iñigo. “We just wanted to win. Kaya yung mga arguments, normal sa amin yan, walang problema yan. Kasi nga, ang goal namin is to win.”
