Nougat Candy came back from a huge 21-point deficit to stun Mighty Sports, 81-77, and boost its twice-to-beat bid in the semis with its sixth straight win in the Below 6-feet Basketball League Tuesday at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig City.
After a sluggish start, Nougat Candy rallied behind the efforts of Alvin Vitug, Ryan Dy, JR Casula, Derrick Salamat and Byron Gan, trimming a 11-26 deficit to 42-46 at the half.
Nougat seized the initiative early in the payoff period behind the steady shooting of Vitug and Casula who finished with 20 and 17 points, respectively, for the team of player-manager Mike Mancilla.
A win over Wang’s gives Nougat Candy the No. 1 spot and a twice-to-beat advantage in the tournament organized by Metro Basketball Tournament (MBT) and sponsored by Don Antonio Roxas-Chua Foundation.
“Nothing was going right for us in the first quarter but we did not give up,” said Mancilla.
The loss was the first for Mighty Sports in five starts, dropping them to third place. Wang’s remains at second with a 3-0 card while China Airlines is at fourth (3-1).
MBT commissioner Nilo Fernandez expects another fierce battle when Nougat Candy goes for a sweep against Wangs.