D-LEAGUE: CAGAYAN GRABS SHARE OF LEAD
Cagayan Valley continued winning run in the 2015 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup, downing Tanduay Light, 81-74, Thursday at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao.
After the Rising Suns led by as much as 32, 49-17, the Rhum Masters slowly crawled back to the game late. However, their fightback just went a little short as time ran out.
Andrian Celada led Cagayan with 16 points, eight in that first quarter outburst while Don Trollano and Moala Tautuaa both got a double-double as each had 12 markers and 10 rebounds.
Jason Melano also had 10 points in the victory.
“Walang killer instinct. Lumamang na, sabi namin, dapat tuloy pa rin ang opensa namin. Relaxed sila eh. Muntik pa mahabol,” said Cagayan Valley assistant coach Nonoy Bonleon after the win that tied them with Hapee at 9-0. “Kulang pa siguro sa maturity.”
Aljon Mariano once again led Tanduay with 13 points and six boards, while Jaypee Belencion had 11 of his 13 markers in that third quarter storm.
Lucas Tagarda also had seven of his 11 points in the fourth, as Gino Jumao-as finished with 10 for Tanduay, which fell to 4-6.
The first two games, meanwhile, both went into overtime as teams in the middle of the pack fought for spots in the quarterfinals.
In the first game, Bread Story-LPU fueled its hopes for the final quarterfinal slot with a 97-94 overtime win over Wangs Basketball.
Wilson Baltazar made his money from the charity stripe, scoring 10 from the line in the extra period to finish with 14 points and give the Smashing Bakers the win.
His consecutive trips to the line in the final two minutes turned a 91-all deadlock to a 95-91 advantage, followed by a Jiovanni Jalalon steal and breakaway layup to seal the deal.
Jalalon captained the Bread Story win with his 18 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Jackson Corpuz finished with 18 markers.
“We are still hoping, and we want to win the remaining three games that we have,” said Bread Story assistant coach Raymond Tiongco.
Paolo Pontejos, who scored the game-tying basket to force overtime, finished with 23 points, while Macky Acosta got 20 markers and six rebounds for Wangs Basketball (2-6).
In the second game, CafeFrance solidified its place in the quarterfinals and clinched third place by surviving Cebuana Lhuillier, 67-62, in overtime.
Maverick Ahanmisi sparked the Bakers in the overtime period, scoring five of his 16 points in extra time, to go with his five rebounds, and five assists.
Rodrigue Ebondo chipped in a double-double with his 13 markers and 13 rebounds, and Samboy de Leon waxed hot from three-point region with his 3-of-5 shooting to end the game with 11 points and nine boards.
“Meron pa kaming dalawang games so kailangan pa naming manalo sa dalawa. If ever, first time namin pumasok sa top four and that is the goal we wanted from the start,” said CafeFrance coach Egay Macaraya, whose wards improve to 7-2.
The Bakers almost escaped with the win in regulation if not for De Leon fouling Paul Zamar on a lead-swinging three. The latter could only get two from the stripe, but Almond Vosotros secured the offensive board to give one last chance for Cebuana to steal the game. Zamar and Kevin Ferrer, however, would miss on their potential game-winning shots, which sent the game to overtime.
Ahanmisi then took over, distributing the ball to his teammates for open baskets and icing the game from the free throw line.
“The boys played well. They didn’t give up, so credit to them,” said Macaraya.
Zamar dropped 14 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, and Ferrer tallied a double-double with his 11 markers and 11 rebounds for Cebuana Lhuillier (4-4). (RL)
The Scores:
First Game:
Bread Story-LPU 97 – Corpuz 18, Jalalon 18, Baltazar 14, Zamora 13, Mbomiko 9, Gamboa 6, Taladua 6, Bulawan 4, Elmejrab 3, Gabayni 2, Bangga 2, Vigil 2, Lao 0.
Wangs Basketball 94 – Pontejos 23, Acosta 20, Montuano 14, Miranda 10, Purdy 9, Montemayor 6, Acidre 5, Acuna 4, Ferrer 3, Morillo 0, Rosopa 0, Marquez 0, Mendoza 0.
Quarters: 14-19, 41-28, 55-51, 83-83, 97-94.
Second Game:
CafeFrance 67 – Ahanmisi 16, Ebondo 13, De Leon 11, Noble 8, Cortes 8, Abundo 6, Andrada 3, Huertas 2, Galanza 0, Jeruta 0, Sedurifa 0, Batino 0.
Cebuana Lhuillier 62 – Zamar 19, Ferrer 11, Enciso 6, A. Mangahas 6, Torres 6, Vosotros 6, Guinto 6, Villahermosa 2, Lopez 0, Ciriacruz 0, Bautista 0, J. Mangahas 0, Sarangay 0.
Quarters: 15-16, 24-26, 43-36, 56-56, 67-62.
Third Game:
Cagayan Valley 81 – Celada 16, Trollano 12, Tautuaa 12, Melano 10, Mabulac 8, Tayongtong 8, Salamat 6, Austria 5, Flores 4, Dilay 0, Capacio 0, Galliguez 0.
Tanduay Light 74 – Mariano 13, Belencion 13, Tagarda 11, Jumao-as 10, Escueta 8, Foronda 8, Santos 5, Sumang 4, Rono 2, Mandani 0, Ignacio 0, De Vera 0, De Leon 0, Ilagan 0.
Quarters: 30-12, 54-27, 75-53, 81-74.
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