Go For Gold-CSB now stands with four wins (and three losses) under their belt in the Aspirants Group for the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Developmental League (D-League) after overcoming Petron Letran, 107-87, last Thursday, May 2 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The Scratchers avoided a 29-point meltdown in the third quarter by clinching onto a 64-35 lead in the third quarter. Roosevelt Adams was consistent from the first few minutes of the match alone, scoring his first 14 points in the first half to give his team a 27-8 lead, while he scored nine of his team’s last 15 points in the fourth. Overall, the Filipino-American totalled 29 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, and a 6-of-9 percentage from beyond the arc. Unique Naboa also had a breakout game at 20 points, seven assists, and five rebounds, while Yankie Haruna and Clement Leutcheu chipped 14 points individually.
For the Knights, it was Jeo Ambohot who led his team with a double-double of 22 points and 16 rebounds, while Jerrick Balanza and Jeremiah Taladua contributed a total of 15 and 10 respectively. Unfortunately, Petron-Letran still tallied 22 turnovers and 22 of 40 missed free throws, which drops them now to a 5-3 win-loss standing in the same group.
When talking about highest-pointer Adams’ performance, Go for Gold-CSB head coach Charles Tiu told the media, “This is what I expect from [Adams]. This is the reason why I got him,” referring to fulfilling for the absence of Justin Gutang and Kendrix Belgica. He added, “We’re injured a lot, we’re depleted, and we were worried, but he showed up today.”