Kutitap stuns Shark; Blu wins

Wesley Gonzales fired 10 of his 15 points in the final quarter as Kutitap Toothpaste upended defending champion Shark, 77-66, yesterday in the PBL Challenge Cup at the Makati Coliseum.

Gonzales’ heroics thus powered Kutitap to its second victory in three games for a tie at second place with Blu while dealing the Power Boosters their second straight setback.

"Basically, it’s the desire of the players which keyed the victory. Kung tutuusin, di naman nagkakalayo ang line-up namin sa kanila (Shark). I really spend some time para mahuli ang laro nila at naging maganda ang effect," Kutitap coach Koy Banal said.

The match went through two deadlocks and 11 lead changes, the last when Rensy Bajar and Francis Mercado starred in a 9-0 run to wrest the upperhand for Kutitap, 53-45, 1:21 remaining.

Chester Tolomia and Rysal Castro tried to rally Shark but the closest that the Power Boosters could come was at 57-61, midway the final quarter.

In the other game, Marlon Legaspi canned in two freethrows in the final 3.5 seconds as Blu edged Montana, 69-67, to tie Kutitap at second behind the 2-0 card of Welcoat Paints.