#LabanSanJuan: Knights nip Pasay to draw first blood in the playoffs

With the backs against the wall, San Juan put up a monstrous fightback to defeat Pasay by the smallest of margins, 75-74 to open the Northern Division Quarterfinals Saturday evening at the FilOil FlyingV Centre.

After they dug a huge hole early in the first, including a 14-point deficit in the second quarter, the top-seeded Knights slowly grinded their way out of the jam and pulled a huge fourth-quarter comeback in a repeat of their home opener almost eight months ago, drawing first blood in their best of three series against the eight-seeded Voyagers.

Finals MVP Mike Ayonayon led the reigning national champions of the MPBL with 15 points on a 60% field goal shooting, adding 5 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals.

The loss spoiled a huge 24-point explosion by Axel Inigo, including 4 triples as San Juan only shot 5/24 as a team.

Pasay had their biggest lead at 29-15 in the second frame on a Raymund Ilagan lay-up, as both teams struggled with officiating as they accounted for 49 total fouls in the entire game.

That included five technical fouls slapped against the home side.

But San Juan had their reserves on their side, outscoring the Voyagers 30-28 as it slowly chipped away the lead, until John Wilson played the proverbial white knight in the payoff period when it mattered the most, much to the delight of the hometown crowd.

The first player to hit a thousand points in the MPBL fired in 10 fourth quarter points to finish with eleven, none bigger than his go-ahead triple that gave them the 74-71 lead in the final frame.

San Juan held their nerve in the final frame, in which Ron Lastimosa turned the ball over on a bad pass to seal another nailbiting win by the Knights.

The scores:

SAN JUAN 75 -- Ayonayon 15, Clarito 13, Rodriguez 11, Wilson 11, Estrella 8, Wamar 7, Isit 6, Aquino 4, Victoria 0, Reyes 0, Pelayo 0, Bunag 0, Tajonera 0, Gabawan 0

PASAY 74 -- Inigo 24, Moradas 13, Belencion 11, Ilagan 9, Reverente 8, Lastimosa 3, Chan 2, Lasquety 2, Pasia 2, Opiso 0

Quarter scores: 13-24, 28-36, 53-60, 75-74

Photo by Harold Biado/San Juan Knights