Smart denied Capital1 a perfect opening-round campaign while Say Chiz scored a bounce back win over Strong Group Athletics in the 2024 Philippine Sportswriters Association Cup late Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Sports Scribes banked on Jan Ballesteros and Julio Sampedro down the stretch to complete a nail-biting 67-66 triumph over the Solar Boys while the Smileys used a big fourth-quarter run to keep the Press Row Bros winless, 89-77, in the third week of the tournament headed by PSA president Nelson Beltran and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
With Smart down by two points, 64-66, Sampedro displayed his nerves of steel and drilled a go-ahead three-pointer off an assist from Ballesteros to put the Sports Scribes up by one with 6.9 seconds remaining in the game.
After setting the stage for Sampedro’s clutch basket, Ballesteros, who scored six of the team’s last 11 points, came up big on the defensive end to seal Smart’s second consecutive victory.
Ballesteros finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and three steals for the Sports Scribes, while AJ Bolando chipped in 17 markers to go along with 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. Sampedro added nine points, five rebounds and three assists.
In the opening game, Niel Masoy scored six of his nine fourth quarter points in Say Chiz’s significant 14-4 run to start the period, which gave them a commanding 75-62 advantage over SGA.
The Press Row Bros answered back with an 11-4 swing to cut the lead to six, 73-79, but it was not enough as Jonas Terrado, Cedelf Tupas, and Masoy delivered the finishing blows for the Smileys, who were coming off a 67-58 loss to the Solar Boys.
Three players from Say Chiz finished with 20-point performances led by Terrado’s monster numbers of 26 points and 22 rebounds laced with four steals and one block.
