By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Sweet revenge.
After two years, Mark Yee and the Davao Occidental Tigers finally got their payback against the San Juan Go-for-Gold Knights who broke their hearts in their last MPBL finals meeting.
Haunted by the painful memory, Davao rode their solid team chemistry to nip San Juan in Game 4 of the 2020-2021 MPBL championship, 89-88.
It was indeed one of the most thrilling matches in the young history of the MPBL as both squads wanted to win the crucial game 4 with San Juan effective with their signature full-court pressure and Davao just sharing the ball and exposed mismatches in the post.
Yee was a handful for the Knights and was all over the place, finishing the slugfest with 12 rebounds, three rejections, and 19 huge points including the game-winning triple.
However, Davao began to rattle after guard Joseph Terso failed to convert the game-tying free throws with 55 seconds left.
A series of defensive stops enabled Davao to have the final shot after Emman Calo forced a Larry Rodriguez turnover.
Davao head coach Don Dulay was then quick to call a timeout and mapped-out one of his patent crucial plays, a Yee pick-and-pop in the left elbow.
Executed to perfection, Yee was able to hoist the “three of death” that gave them the lead and the long-overdue MPBL championship trophy.
Meanwhile, San Juan main gunner Mike Ayonayon wasn’t able to finish the game and sat the whole second half after aggravating his hamstring injury.
John Wilson, the MPBL season MVP, was able to score 13 but wasn’t enough to help his team defend their title against the Yee and the Tigers.
