BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
MANILA – EcoOil-DLSU Green Archers cruised to a wire-to-wire 91-78 Game 3 victory over Marinerong Pilipino Skippers to clinch the 2022 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup title on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Deschon Winston spearheaded the offense with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Filipino-American Michael Phillips added double-double 15 points and 16 rebounds for DLSU.
Negrense Mark Nonoy made a rare appearance as he contributed 15 markers, while Evan Nelle chipped in 13 markers as the Green Archers wrapped up the series at 2-1.
This was the first pre-UAAP season championship for the Frederick Pumaren-mentored Green Archers after placing third in the recent FilOil EcoOil Pre-Season tourney.
The Green Archers went on a fiery start behind early conversions from Nelle and inside attacks from Phillips and Kevin Quiambao for a 21-9 edge midway in the first quarter.
The Skippers kept the match close at 19-23 late in the period but the Green Archers got a lift via back-to-back triples and three free throws by Nonoy to build a 47-33 advantage.
Marinerong Pilipino rallied to within 33-39 late in the second canto but outside conversions from Nelle, Winston and Benjamin Phillips allowed EcoOil-DLSU to establish a 51-36 halftime score.
The Green Archers continued its run in the third period as the lead reached its largest at 74-53 via a layup by Nonoy but the Skippers stormed its way back to come to within 70-79.
EcoOil-DLSU, however, got a huge lift on a triple and a three-point play by Cyrus Austria and a fastbreak dunk by Bright Nwankwo to secure the championship.
Juan Gomez de Liano finished with 30 points but had nine turnovers, while Adrian Nocum and Arvin Gamboa had 18 and 12 markers, respectively, for the Skippers./PN
