Stallions nip Cultivators to bag 3rd place in Liga-PBL joint tourney

Treston Laguna reaffirmed its mastery over Ani-FCA, scoring a 94-87 overtime victory and snatching third place honors in the inaugural staging of the Tournament of the Philippines Saturday at the Emilio Aguinaldo College gym in Manila.

Alex Angeles bailed the Stallions out of trouble in the extra period by hitting an open trey from the right corner with 56 seconds remaining to grab an 89-87 lead.

In the next play, the Stallions watched the Cultivators self-destruct to escape with the win– their second over Ani in two days.

For finishing third in the first leg of this joint tournament of the Philippine Basketball League and Liga Pilipinas, coach Nomar Isla and his squad gained three points.

"At least we were able to get more points. We didn't play well in this tournament but at least we added some points to our standings and gain some momentum in our succeeding games," said Isla, also the coach of the Emilio Aguinaldo Generals in the NCAA.

Guard Leomer Losentes erupted for 26 points while Ricky Ricafuente and Angeles added 18 and 16 points, respectively, for the Stallions.

Regulation play ended at 80-all after former pro Rob Sanz hit a game-tying triple.

Sanz, who played briefly for Purefoods two years ago, hit a buzzer-beating runner to beat Ani-FCA, 95-93.

Roel Hugnatan paced the Cultivators with 25 points while adding five rebounds and five assists. Boyet Bautista and Jofer Custodio hit 14 points each.

Behind Custodio and Hugnatan, who conspired in their team's 12-2 blast, Ani-FCA fought its way back from a seven-point and took an 80-77 lead before Sanz preserved his best for last.

In overtime, Custodio hit a putback as the Cultivators grabbed their last lead at 87-84 with exactly two minutes to go.