San Juan Knights nip Bulacan Kuyas

Jhonard Clarito came up with a huge defensive stop in the final seconds to give the San Juan Knights a thrilling 90-88 win over the Bulacan Kuyas in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) Lakan Season on Monday night, September 23, at the Filoil Flying V Center.

After San Juan wingman John Wilson made the second of two free-throws to give the Knights a 90-88 lead with 5.5 seconds remaining, Bulacan — with no more timeouts remaining — got the ball to Stephen Siruma who rushed downcourt and found his teammate, JR Alabanza, open right underneath the basket.

However, Clarito recovered just in time to swat away Alabanza’s potential game-tying undergoal stab and preserve San Juan’s win to improve their record to a league-best 14-1 (win-loss).

Clarito ended up with a huge double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds while also doing a yeoman’s job on the defensive end of the floor, tallying a steal and three blocked shots.

Wilson on the other hand, continued his sizzling scoring binge, this time producing 24 points. This included a triple that gave San Juan an 87-78 lead with 2:28 to go before Bulacan came roaring back to pull within one, 88-89, after a three-point play by Dennis Santos.

Bulacan dropped to 9-6 for the season, snapping what was a four-game winning streak under new head coach Kerwin McCoy.

THE SCORES:

San Juan (90) Wilson 24, Clarito 15, Rodriguez 15, Ayonayon 14, Estrella 13, Pelayo 3, Marquez 2, Isit 2, Reyes 2

Bulacan (88) Capacio 18, Nermal 14, Diputado 12, Siruma 11, Escosio 8, Alabanza 6, Dela Cruz 4, Taganas 4, Antipuesto 2

Quarterscores: 23-28, 38-46, 62-61, 90-88