The Energen Pilipinas displayed tough resolve in crunchtime as it outlasted the erstwhile unbeaten Chinese Taipei, 88-83, in the FIBA Asia Under-18 Championships in UlaanBaatar, Mongolia.
At the forefront of the crucial victory was Cebuano guard Jerie Marlon Pingoy, the reigning UAAP juniors MVP and a former stalwart of the University of Cebu, who scored 25 points and had five assists and combined with team skipper J-Jay Alejandro, who added 22 points and had nine boards.
The Nationals (3-1) were looking at a 75-78 deficit with three minutes left in the game before Rey Nambatac scored on a putback while Pingoy added a three-point play that gave them an 86-82 lead with 46 seconds left.
Chinese Taipei came within three but Alejandro sealed the win with two freethrows with just 18 ticks remaining./Correspondent Jonas Panerio