The Paint Masters lost an 11-point lead early in the fourth but Najorda, a former MVP in the NCAA, came to the rescue. He knocked in a huge trey with just 50 seconds left to frustrate Toyota’s whirlwind end-game assault.
With the win, the Paint Masters gained a share of the lead with idle Montana Pawnshop at 2-0 while the Knights dropped to a share of second with Harbour Centre, Granny Goose and Magnolia Ice Cream at 1-1.
Jay-A Coching, slowly emerging as the team’s go-to-guy, topscored for the Paint Masters for the first time with 19 points highlighted by five triples.
Fil-Am Anthony Washington also did his share, chipping in 16 points while Najorda, a 6-foot-4 forward, finished with nine points.
Najorda’s three-point bomb negated Mark Macapagal’s fourth-quarter explosion for the Knights. Macapagal tallied 12 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth, including a booming triple that knotted the count at 64-all with 50 ticks left.
But Najorda was there to spoil everything for the Knights.
In the first game, Magnolia Ice Cream played like a true champion and demolished Negros Navigation-San Beda, 83-52.
Working behind a sleek running game and solid inside plays, the Wizards needed only one big quarter to notch their first win following a stinging defeat to Toyota Otis the last time.
For the Red Lions, it was their second straight blowout loss in the tournament they are using as tune-up for the coming NCAA wars.
Behind UAAP veterans Denok Miranda, Arwind Santos and Mark Isip, the Wizards raced to a 42-22 lead which they jacked up to 74-39 early in the fourth.
Seldom-used Don Yabut shared the scoring honors with Miranda by scoring 10 points. The 6-foot-8 Yabut also grabbed four boards and had an assist in 15 minutes of play.
Banal had even the luxury of using all his 15 players with only Jeff Chan failing to buy a single basket.
"This is not the best way to gauge our strength but I saw some good signs out there. The boys wanted to win and they showed it," said Banal. "We’re hoping we can sustain our intensity and enthusiam."
Again, Nenaco’s lack of experience told heavily on the team as they were simply overpowered in all departments.
Their awful shooting also contributed largely to their downfall.
"Their lack of experience showed but they are going on the right track. Anyway, they are here to fine-tune themselves but they can catch a big fish along the way," added Banal.
Aside from Yabut, also getting extended minutes were 6-foot-5 Francis Barcellano and 6-foot-6 James Razon who combined for 10 points.