FORMER Cesafi juniors MVP Paul Desiderio had quite the debut in the PBA D-League as he led the University of the Philippines QRS/Jam Liner to a thrilling 90-85 victory over the National University-BDO in the Aspirants Cup on Thursday evening at the Arena in San Juan City.
Desiderio, a proud son of Liloan who captured the Cesafi juniors MVP plum as a junior back in 2011, scored 24 points spiked by seven three-point shots to lead his team in scoring.
But it was veteran Raymond Aguilar who shone in the endgame as he drained a triple to push what was a slim one-point lead to an 89-85 cushion. The 30-year-old finished with a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Former pro Juneric Baloria added 16 while Gelo Alolino chipped in 11 in a game against his former UAAP squad.
J-Jay Alejandro carried BDO-NU with 21 points, from an 11-of-14 shooting from the charity stripe, while Nico Javelona chipped in 13 markers in the loss.
THE SCORES:
UP QRS/JAM Liner 90 – Desiderio 24, Aguilar 18, Baloria 16, Alolino 11, Ferrer 8, Batino 6, Soyud 5, Moralde 2, Asilum 0, Dario 0, Harris 0, Neypes 0, Vito 0.
BDO-NU 85 – Alejandro 21, Javelona 13, Aroga 10, Roño 10, Tansingco 10, Salem 8, Labingisa 4, Perez 4, Salim 3, Diputado 2, Yu 0.