By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
It was a sight of a near-meltdown as Makati clawed back from an 11-point deficit that swung the momentum back to their side and Manila teetering on the brink of an upset.
After a timeout and with 44 seconds left to play, it was clear that Manila-Frontrow wanted Mark Dyke to be the first option with a quick pass once he frees up underneath.
As Dyke received the ball, he was forced into a double team trap in the paint and found a wide-open Carlo Lastimosa in the corner three area.
Carlo Lastimosa didn’t disappoint as he calmly swooshed in the open shot.
After the shot, the crowd in the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan went on a frenzy as Lastimosa nailed the dagger to seal the 77-74 win against the resilient Makati-Super Crunch.
Makati’s 11-0 scoring run changed the match as Manila began to slow down and halted their fluid executions to isolations.
It was Lastimosa that saved Manila in their series opener and helped his squad inch closer to a division finals berth.
In the first three quarters, Manila blitzed their way looking to trample Makati going into the fourth but Makati clawed their way to tie the game at 72 all behind their never say die spirit.
