MANILA — San Juan Knights came alive in the final period to hold off Navotas Clutch, 81-74, in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Datu Cup at the STRIKE Gymnasium in Bacoor, Cavite on Tuesday night.
In a highly physical game that even saw Larry Rodriguez getting hurt twice and Mac-Mac Cardona getting ejected due to two unsportsmanlike fouls, John Wilson sizzled in time to lead the Knights’s final attack and defeat the upset-seeking Clutch.
Limited to just 10 first quarter points and down by 11, 50-61, at the end of the third period, San Juan went on a 12-0 run with Wilson scoring the first 10 points to go up, 62-61.
The game went back and forth midway through the fourth, but the Knights finished off the Clutch with an 11-2 run in the final five minutes.
Wilson outscored the entire Navotas team in the fourth quarter, 16-13, and finished with an MPBL career-high 28 points alongside 10 rebounds, two assists, and three steals to lead San Juan, which tied Bataan again in first place in the Northern Division at 8-1.
Kris Porter made 18 points, two rebounds, and one assist for Navotas, which slipped to 4-5. (Ivan Stewart Saldajeno/PNA)
