The Parañaque Aces notched their first win of the 2018 National Basketball League Philippines Season by besting the Bulacan Makabayan 72-70 in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader from the Marikina Sports Complex.

Parañaque was able to capitalize on their strong opening drive and carried a 16 point advantage by halftime.

Things took a complete turn when the Makabayan mustered 11 straight points to open the third quarter. Thanks to some timely shooting, Bulacan was finally able to have a taste of the lead, but Parañaque was able to keep step and make the game as close as it could be.

The final quarter was still neck and neck halfway in until Raffy Gusi knocked down a triple to give the Aces an eight point lead. But just as they have done in the previous frame, Bulacan kept on fighting. With 22 seconds left to play and trailing by two, Makabayan had one last shot to salvage the contest. Although Carlo Cudia’s jumper was no good, he got his own miss and passed to his teammate Paul Vincent Dela Cruz for the desperation three. However, that too, missed the mark as the Aces held on for the victory.

Immanuel Custodio was the top performer for the Aces with 16 points while going 8-for-13 from the field. He also hauled in six rebounds, two steals, and recorded an assist to his statline

SCORES
PARAÑAQUE
Custodio 16, Bermudes 15, Pineda 9, Arce 6, Almaden 6, Sunga 5, Gusi 5, Jasmin 4, Quilatan 2, Galit 2, Sumabat 2, Prado 0, Reyes 0

BULACAN
Celso 15, Fajardo 15, Dela Cruz 11, Cudia 8, Ellamil 6, Foronda 5, Cruz 3, Pangan 2, Sumampong 2, Ramirez 2, Landayan 1, Catura 0, Bondoc 0