The Akari Baby Chargers held off a late rally from St. Paul College of Pasig (SPCP), escaping with a 51–48 win to remain undefeated in the Akari U16 Girls’ Basketball Invitational on Tuesday at the Playtime FilOil Centre.
Solenne Tan powered Akari with 15 points and 13 rebounds, while team captain Cara Tiu added 14 points, four boards, and three assists to help lift the Baby Chargers to a 2–0 start.
Akari led by as many as 14 points, 45–31, after a Tiu three-pointer early in the fourth. But SPCP stormed back with a 9–0 run behind Brooklyn Sanchez and Zoe Fernandez, cutting the lead to five with just over two minutes left.
The Baby Chargers responded with a quick 5–0 spurt to stretch the lead back to nine, 50–41, but SPCP kept fighting. Sanchez nailed two clutch free throws to make it a one-possession game, 50–48, with 6.2 seconds remaining.
Mio Pennicook was fouled and split her free throws, giving Akari a 51–48 cushion. With no timeouts left, SPCP couldn’t get a final shot off as time expired.
Sanchez finished with 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists to lead SPCP, while Fernandez added 17 points, including five triples, in the valiant comeback effort.
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