Ironmen snap skid, book 1st Aspirants Cup win

Cobra Energy Drink overhauled an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat DUB Unlimited, 62-60, for its first win in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at the San Juan Gym. Point guard Robby Zablan led Cobra’s comeback scoring six of his eight points in the payoff period, including the game-winning free throw with 9.4 seconds left in the game. The Ironmen notched their first win after eight games to tie their victims at the bottom of the standings. Cobra head coach Jerry Codinera compared the win to his first victory with the University of the East Red Warriors in the UAAP. "The boys didn't give up even with the adversity. We just found a way to win. DUB had a lot of errors and we capitalized," said Codinera in his first D-League win. Cobra bounced back from an 11-point deficit, 51-40, as Raymond Aguilar's jumper gave DUB Unlimited the double-digit spread with nine minutes and 25 seconds to play in the final canto. Zablan nailed a fade-away, 24-second shotclock-beating jumper followed by a three-pointer with less than four minutes left in the game to cut the deficit to one point. After a Mar Villahermosa free throw, Cobra's Lord Casajeros tied the game with a tip-in and Jam Cortes scored on a putback to give the Ironmen a two-point lead. But Rex Leynes' two free throws knotted the count again. The game was still tied after Cortes and Aguilar exchanged baskets. But Zablan scored the marginal point after getting a foul from Leynes on a pump fake with 9.4 seconds in the game. He only made the second charity but Cobra didn't allow DUB Unlimited an easy shot as Jeric Teng missed a running jumper at the buzzer. Cortes finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds while JM Noble added 12 markers for the Ironmen. — JVP, GMA News