Old reliable Joko Tayongtong came through with clutch free throws down the stretch and the rest of the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo put together one big stop in the final 12 seconds to preserve a tense 76-75 win over Rizal-Xentro Mall in an exciting MPBL encounter Monday night at the Paco Arena.
Tayongtong was steady all game long, hitting 14 of his 16 free throws, including the game-winning buckets.
But the Batang Kankaloo had to hold their collective breath in the final 1.2 seconds as they dodged what appeared to be a gimme basket that wasn’t converted by Eric Camson.
A former PBA player, Camson found himself wide open coming off a baseline in-bound play and received a pass from Jerry Pinggoy.
The stocky but shifty forward, however, missed a potential game-winning short stab as the Golden Coolers absorbed their second loss in seven games, the same record now being held by Caloocan, which also got a solid game from Jeff Manday.
Also surviving a thrilling match was Bacolod, which was pushed to the limit by winless Marikina, but went on to preserve a 70-69 squeaker.
Cebu dominated Quezon City, 69-54, to complete the list of winners.
