Toyota Letran upsets Welcoat

Toyota Otis-Letran leaned on a big fourth quarter spurt to upset Welcoat Paint, 80-66, and muddle up the race for the two automatic semifinal berths in the PBL Unity Cup at the Pasig Sports Center yesterday.

Behind Mark Macapagal and Emerson Oreta, the Knights went on a 16-1 run early in the fourth to rip apart a close ballgame.

Macapagal had six of his game-high 20 points during that stretch while Oreta scored five of his eight including the basket that gave the Knights a 70-55 lead with 7:34 left.

The Paint Masters were still very much in contention late in the final half when they forged the score at 54 all and then trailed the Knights by just 62-55 entering the fourth period before Toyota Otis came through with the game’s telling run.

Their stunning win had the Knights staying in contention for the two automatic berths in the semis as they raised their record to 5-3, just behind their victims and Harbour Centre, both with identical 6-2 cards.

The loss denied Welcoat a share of the lead with Montaña (7-1).

Earlier, Bacchus Energy Drink notched only its second win but enough to keep its quarterfinal hopes going in the season-opening meet.

The Energy Kings repeated over winless Nenaco-San Beda, 69-65, and moved within striking distance of defending champion Magnolia-FEU and Granny Goose Kornets.

The Wizards and Snack Masters are tied at fifth to sixth places with identical 3-5 records, just a game ahead of the Energy Kings, who improved to 2-6 and snapped their four-game losing streak in the process.

Bacchus defeated Nenaco-San Beda in the first round, 67-59.

The Energy Kings didn’t really get the job done until the final two minutes after a 5-0 swing broke a 63-all contest and gave them a five-point cushion.

Mark Abadia and Wynsjohn Te made the run possible as they scored on an undergoal stab and a big three-pointer in between a crucial turnover by the Lions.

Jemal Vizcarra led the Energy Kings with 13 points while Abadia and Nani Epondulan finished with 11 markers each.

Bacchus Energy’s second win already equaled the same number of victories the team posted in the last PBL Open Championship.