Guevarra putback wins it for Welcoat

Coming in at the right time and right place, Christian Guevarra banged in his lone basket in the day — an off-balanced putback off teammate JA Coching’s miss — that was enough to lift Welcoat past Magnolia, 85-84, in a thrilling overtime win to join Montaña at the helm in the PBL Unity Cup at the Pasig Sports Center yesterday.

Guevarra came off the bench in the final 11 seconds of the tight contest as Eugene Tan fouled out with the Paintmasters trailing the Wizards, 83-84. But the former Mapua standout plucked a rebound off Coching’s muffed try and then threw a prayer of a shot that went in, snatching the victory for the Paint Masters.

"It’s nice to win a close game against a strong team like Magnolia," said Welcoat coach Caloy Garcia after the Paintmasters notched their third straight victory and sixth overall against a lone defeat. "It also shows that we have a lot of players who can step up any game."

Welcoat and Magnolia fought to a 75-all game in regulation.

Anthony Washington came through with a huge game with 22 points, 19 rebounds, three assists and three shot blocks as Welcoat dealt Magnolia its fourth setback against three wins.

Earlier, injury-plagued Toyota Otis-Letran found a hero in Jonathan Piñera as it smashed Negros Navigation, 67-45, to notch its first back-to-back wins this conference.

Filling the void left by the flu-stricken Ron Capati, Chad Alonzo and Eric Rodriguez, Piñera went five-of-six from the field to finish with 12 points he spiked with five rebounds as the Knights claimed their fourth win in seven outings to remain inside the Magic Four.

"Maganda ang ipinakita niya ngayon considering na puro may lagnat ang mga malalaki ko," said Toyota Otis coach Louie Alas of Piñera.