It was a photo-finish matchup.
Showcasing nostalgic gameplays, the team ‘94 All-Stars consisting of Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) legends dominated the high-scoring exhibition showdown against De La Sa Lipa (DLSL) All-Stars, 122-117, as part of the DLSL 56th Foundation week celebration at the SENTRUM, Feb. 15.
Entering with the height advantage, seven-footer Edward Joseph ‘E. J.’ Feihl settled the control early for the former PBA players with his floor commanding moves and long-range shooting starting from the tip-off.
Assisting him was Team 94’s Aries Dimaunahan, who managed to bank a double-digit score of 10 to close the first quarter to their advantage, 31-30.
Despite the consecutive points contributed by DLSL’s Glenn Latayan and Michael Gonzales, their attempt of stealing the lead was overwhelmed in the second quarter when PBA Legend Noli “The Tank” Locsin turned the table to their advantage, dishing opportunities for Mark “Big Mac” Andaya who also flushed four contested lay-ins, 69-54.
The second half of the game paved the way for a commanding opening for the DLSL team, considering the squad’s 16-5 point streak by Grecco Magbuhos that tied the game to 76-76 with five minutes remaining in the quarter.
Although evening the game, Team ‘94 equalized their match-up’s effort with their own 16-5 run including the buzzer-beater three-point shot from Mark Cruz that concluded the third quarter with 15-point deficit for DLSL, 100-85.
Determined to narrow the lead, DLSL’s Gonzales siblings, Michael Gonzales and Nelson Gonzales, quickly doubled their offensive labor and collated 15 points alone in the last quarter through their shooting from downtown that inched the scoreboard to a 118-115 mark.
However, with less than a minute on the clock, it was again the towering defenses of former PBA players Feihl and Andaya plus the clutch jumpers of Cruz and Dimaunahan that secured the victory for the Team ‘94 All-Stars, 122-117.
“Magagaling silang lahat [DLSL All-Stars]. Actually, pinahirapan nila ako, kami. Maraming salamat kasi nakapaglaro kami dito sa celebrity game ninyo sa foundation day ninyo,” Andaya added.
Aside from bringing the basketball idols to DLSL’s homecourt, part of the ticket sales will go to the fundraising efforts of the high school batch of 1994.
Junjun Latayan is the one who made a pass to avoid the defender Andaya