By Adrian Stewart Co

Christian Balagasay scored the game-winning layup as the Petron-Letran Knights cruised to a 91-90 win over St. Clare Saints-Virtual Reality in the 2019 PBA D-League last Tuesday at JCSGO Gym in Cubao, Quezon City.

After seeing a 20-point lead turn into a 90-89 deficit, the Knights got back on top on a layup by Balagasay with 13 seconds remaining, who scored off a pass from Jerrick Balanza.

The Knights sealed its near collapse when Saints guard Paul Santos’ baseline hit was nullified by an offensive charge on teammate Junjie Hallare with 1.7 seconds left in the game.

Alvin Pasaol started off hot with 10 first quarter points to guide the Knights to a 31-11 advantage before dropping eight of the Petron-Letran’s last 11 points to finish with 28 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Meanwhile, Balanza churned out a solid 22 points and five rebounds, Jeo Ambohot added a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, and Jeremiah Taladua scored 11 points.

With the victory, the Knights now claim third place in the Aspirants’ Group with a 5-2 record, while the Saints slid to fourth with a 4-2 win-loss slate./ASC, WDJ