John-O snacks Cheese Balls

LIPA – Mark Macapagal and Gilbert Neo delivered the endgame heroics to lift John-O past Cheese Balls-Shark, 78-75, yesterday in the PBL Challenge Cup at the Lipa City Sports Cultural Center here.

John-O nailed its second straight win and improved its win-loss card to 3-4 as it dealt Cheese Balls-Shark a sixth consecutive defeat in seven outings.

Welcoat paints firmed up its hold of the lead as it ripped LBC-Batangas, 89-70, for its sixth win in seven starts in the second game.

The Juicers seized control midway through final period, surging ahead at 71-65 on a key run capped by Jeff Napa’s jumper, 3:44 left in the clock.

But Cheese Balls-Shark refused to yield easily, calling on Irvin Sotto and Ismael Junio to make the team’s own run that staked it back in the lead at 75-72 with 1:11 remaining.

But Macapagal rose to the occasion as he fished Warren Ybanez’s final foul and drilled in two charities to move John-O within striking distance, 74-75, in the final 54.1 seconds.

Macapagal himself preserved his heroics as he slipped past Junio and regained the upperhand for John-O, 76-75, with 10.7 seconds to go.

Junio tried to save the day for Cheese Balls-Shark but his desperate three-point attempt bounced off the ring. In the struggle for possession, Neo drew a foul off Jan Anthony Coching in the final 1.7 seconds and sank both his freethrows to settle the issue.

"Defense and hardwork pulled us through the tight endgame. Luckily, pumutok si Macapagal just when we needed him most," said John-O coach Dong Vergeire.

Ricky Calimag topped John-O with 15 points and eight rebounds while Jeff Napa added 12 as John-O not only dominated the boards, 48-39 but likewise translated the rival’s 21 turnovers into 23 points.

Stephen Padilla led Cheese Balls-Shark with 15 points including five triples while Irvin Sotto added 13 points and nine rebounds.