Juan Gomez de Liano proved to be a man among the boys, exploding for 31 points as Marinerong Pilipino blasted AMA Online, 87-49, to clinch a spot in the playoffs in the 2022 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup on Tuesday, July 26, at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The former Japan B.League import just stamped his class all throughout the game and also collected 16 rebounds and five assists to help the Skippers buck a slow start and break the game wide open in the second half.
Marinero improved to a 4-1 record while keeping AMA winless through four games.
Trailing by five at the end of the opening frame, Marinero finally got its bearings going in the second quarter as they dropped 28 points while limiting AMA Online to just 10 for a 13 point lead, 38-25 at the break.
An 11-3 start to open the second half for Marinero took the fight out of AMA, stretching the lead to 21 points, 49-28. It was all Skippers from that point as Toby Agustin and Brian Lacap also finished with 15 and 11 points, respectively, to pick up the slack from the departure of Jollo Go who got a call-up from Blackwater in the PBA.
Nemesis Dela Cruz finished with 12 points to pace AMA which trailed by as many as 42 points.