Scratchers target crown vs Revellers

Go for Gold seeks to make it three in a row this time against Che’Lu Bar and Grill as it guns for the clincher in their best-of-five title series in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig today.

Down 0-1 in a playoff against a team they have yet to beat in the conference, the Scratchers dug deep to take Games Two, 105-81, and Three, 98-96, to move a win of wrapping up the crown.

The top-seeded Revellers dominated the No. 2 Scratchers twice in the elims and reasserted their mastery with a 100-96 win in the opener of the title series.

But in a sudden twist of fate, Che’Lu Bar now found itself on the brink.

“I don’t mean this in an arrogant way. I really feel we are the better team talent-wise, on paper. But Che’Lu outplayed us every time. They were the hungrier team. They are a tough team. They have been together for a long time. After our third straight loss against them, I think the confidence of some of our players were a bit shaken. We couldn’t get them off our backs,” said Go for Gold coach Charles Tiu.

“But eventually we won (in Game Two) and were able to escape in Game Three. So hopefully this time we will be the one to make it three-in-a-row against Che’Lu,” he added.

Paul Desiderio drove past defender Levi Hernandez with less than six seconds left and scored the gamewinning layup in Game Three.