The Pampanga Delta came and conquered Cebu as they toppled the Consolacion Sarok Weavers, 76-71, to capture the national championship in the Pilipinas Super League 21-Under on Monday night at the jampacked Cebu City Sports Institute in Sawang Calero.
With Pampanga governor, Dennis “Delta” Pineda, on the sidelines to guide and cheer his team on, the Delta weathered a huge rally by the Sarok Weavers at the start of the fourth before unleashing one of their own late in the game—sparked by athletic guard Justin Bautista—to stun the Visayas champions and hoist the national crown.
The Sarok Weavers seized the momentum early in the fourth, thanks to a long three-pointer by CJ Alilin and a three-point play by Matt Flores for a 60-53 lead. Consolacion stayed in front, 64-57, when Pampanga made their move, unleashing an 11-1 run highlighted by three-point plays and three-pointers from Letran-bound cagers Joshua Miclat and Kevin Santos, and Bautista for a 68-65 lead with 3:26 to go.
Consolacion fought back and regained the lead, 69-68, after a bucket by Flores but Bautista answered with a strong drive to the rim that netted him an and-one to shove Pampanga back in front, 71-69. Miclat and Bautista later added a couple of layups to hammer the final nail in the Sarok Weavers’ coffin.
Bautista finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Miclat and Santos each had 12 markers, the latter also hauling down 13 rebounds. Charles Delfino added 10 points and five assists.
Froiland Maglasang led Consolacion with 15 points, while Rovello Robles held down the middle, producing 12 points and 16 boards.
Flores and Dave Paulo mustered 11 and 10 points, respectively. However, the Sarok Weavers could not overcome the scoreless outing of their lead guard, Paolo Dalumpines, who missed all eight of his shots before fouling out late in the match.