By Adrian Stewart Co

Marinerong Pilipino Skippers took Game 1 of the best-of-three 2019 PBA D-League Foundation Cup finals last night with a 69-59 win over the BRT Sumisip Basilan-St. Clare Saints at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Adven Diputado tallied 12 points and four rebounds for Marinerong Pilipino, while Eliud Poligrates and William McAloney each added nine markers.
Diputado, Jhonard Clarito, and McAloney pushed Marinerong Pilipino for an early 23-10 lead.
Basilan-St. Clare then came up with a second quarter run but hits from Jordan Rios extended Marinerong Pilipino’s edge to 43-24 at the half.
Marinerong Pilipino clung to a 45-30 edge early in the third after a basket from Negrense forward Mark Yee when Basilan-St. Clare managed to cut their deficit to 13 points; however, conversions from McAloney and John Byron Villarias put the eventual winners up 54-41 edge.
Basilan-St. Clare made their final push in the fourth period and got as close as 64-57 but a triple from Diputado sealed the win for Marinerong Pilipino./ASC, WDJ