After Heroes Cup MVP Jojo Tangkay buried an off-balanced jumper with 3.9 seconds left, dela Peña drove past Tangkay then threw a harried shot over the outstretched arms of 6-foot-10 Samigue Eman that hit the board before sinking in with 0.6 seconds remaining, sparking a wild Granny Goose celebration.
The Elasto Painters failed to launch a decent shot as time expired, sealing the Snack Masters’ third victory against the same number of losses.
Aiming for the solo lead at the start of the match, Rain or Shine instead found itself dropping to third place after absorbing its second setback against four victories, leaving Montaña Pawnshop and Toyota Otis atop the heap with identical 4-1 (win-loss) slates.
"It was really intended for him," said Granny Goose coach Robert Sison referring to the 6-foot guard out of Mapua who played high school ball in Calgary, Canada.
Dela Peña, who finished with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals, earlier threw a three-point shot, hoping to draw a foul from Tangkay with Granny Goose up, 60-59, with 14 seconds left in the match..
But the ploy backfired and Tangkay instead flicked a fade -away jumper from the other end to shove Rain or Shine to a 61-60 lead before dela Peña redeemed himself with his make-or-break shot.
Earlier, Harbour Centre unleashed a fourth quarter siege as it trounced Teletech, 77-63, for as the Port Masters scored their second straight victory after four straight losses.
Joseph Yeo and Jerome Paterno led the attack with 17 and 16 points, respectively, although it was the unlikely pair of Ryan Arana and LA Tenorio who sparked the breakaway.
Arana and Tenorio, rivals in the UAAP, combined for 13 of their 25 points in the final quarter as Harbour Centre turn what had been a close contest into a rout.
It was the Titans’ fifth loss against a win.