Linoleum Giants rally to rip Caida 5, top PCBL

MANILA, Philippines – Jumbo Plastic Linoleum battled back from 17 points down in the early going and then outsteadied Caida Tiles in the stretch, 78-73, to claim the inaugural PCBL Founders Cup crown at the Malolos City Sports and Convention Center last Sunday.

Jeff Viernes poured in seven of Linoleum Giants’ last 10 points, including a triple that sparked their fiery windup, as they completed their stirring fightback from 13-30 down to frustrate the Tile Masters and snare the championship in the event backed by Accel, Ambucore, Spalding and Aquabest.

Viernes, who went on to bag the Finals Most Valuable Player honors, buried a trey to shove Jumbo Plastic to a 71-69 lead then canned in four pressure-packed free throws down the stretch to secure the victory for the Linoleum Giants.

The top-seeded Caida Tiles had a chance to tie the count with still 38 seconds left but Joseph Terso committed a turnover and was forced to give up a foul on Jaymo Eguilos.

The Jumbo Plastic center hit the front end of his charities but missed the second. He, however, dove for the loose ball and was fouled before getting injured in the play.

Unable to return, Eguilos was replaced by ex-pro James Martinez who coolly sank the two free throws to seal the victory for Jumbo Plastic.

“The players really wanted to win. That goes to show their character. They didn’t give up even when we were down by 17 points in the early going of the contest,” said Jumbo Plastic Stevenson Tiu.

Alex Almario’s split with 5:24 left in the second period put Caida Tiles way ahead at 30-13, but the Linoleum Giants countered with a 12-4 run in the next five minutes to close the gap.

Earlier, Sta. Lucia Realty outlasted Euro-Med, 73-67, to cop third place honors.