Desiderio strikes gold for Scratchers

Paul Desiderio scored a layup with 3.4 seconds left and Go for Gold completed a stunning comeback to beat Che’Lu Bar and Grill, 98-96, last night to move a win shy of capturing the PBA D-League Foundation Cup crown at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Displaying his knack for delivering in the clutch for University of the Philippines in the UAAP, Desiderio blew past Levi Hernadez to score an uncontested layup that enabled the Scratchers to take the lead for good.

Che’Lu was forced to throw a baseball pass off the inbound with no timeouts left, but the Go for Gold defense was able to deflect the ball intended for Jeff Viernes at the other end, giving the Scratchers a 2-1 lead in the bestof-5 Finals after being down by 16 in the third.

“I rode with Paul and told him to take us home,” Go for Gold coach Charles Tiu of Desiderio, who returned at the start of the Finals after missing the latter part of the eliminations and the duration of the semifinals due to UP’s training camp in Serbia.

Game 4 is set on Tuesday at the same venue, with Go for Gold seeking its first title in only its second conference in the PBA’s developmental tournament.

Desiderio, who finished with 28 points for his best game of the series, actually scored eight of Go for Gold’s last nine points that began with two triples, the second giving the Scratchers a 95-91 lead with 26.5 left in the fourth.

But Viernes scored a layup, Go for Gold’s Jai Reyes split his two freebies and Chris Bitoon scored a three-point play with 14 seconds that allowed Che’Lu to level at 96-all, setting the stage for Desiderio’s heroics.