D-LEAGUE: CAGAYAN TOP SEED AS BREAD STORY MAKES IT TO QF
Cagayan Valley clinched the top seed in the 2015 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup playoffs with a dominating 104-69 rout of Wangs Basketball on Monday at the Marikina Sports Center.
Four days removed from their exciting 80-77 win over Hapee, coach Alvin Pua had the luxury to rest his stalwarts and let the supporting cast take care of the easy victory.
Jason Melano led Cagayan with a near double-double of 23 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
Abel Galliguez added 12 markers as the Rising Suns swept their 11 games in the eliminations.
As the top seed, Cagayan Valley now lies idle in the semifinals, awaiting the victor of the quarterfinals clash between CafeFrance and Bread Story-LPU.
Hapee, meanwhile, sits at second spot, bracing for the winner of the Jumbo Plastic-Cebuana Lhuillier quarterfinal series.
Mark Montuano had a double-double for Wangs Basketball (2-9) with his 14 points and 10 boards, while Ervic Vijandre had 10 markers.
In the first game, Bread Story-LPU completed the quarterfinals cast with a nail-biting 93-90 victory over Racal Motors.
Jiovanni Jalalon dished out an all-around game for the Smashing Bakers with his 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals, while Joseph Gabayni got a huge double-double after tallying 14 markers and 15 boards.
Louie Vigil also got 12 points in the victory as the Smashing Bakers finished the eliminations with a 5-6 card, tying with the Rhum Masters for the sixth spot. They will advance to the playoffs due to their 69-64 win over Tanduay Light early in the season.
Wilson Baltazar knotted the game at 90 with a big trey in the final 40 seconds, and was followed up by Aziz Mbomiko scoring the go-ahead bucket with 20 ticks left in the clock to push the Smashing Bakers up, 92-90.
Jeff Viernes missed a tough trey with a second left in the clock, forcing the Alibaba to foul Jackson Corpuz on a rebound play. He could only make one of his freebies, but Jalalon was there to grab the offensive board to seal the victory for Bread Story.
“Being the only rookie team which made the quarterfinals, kahit papaano, may naachieve na yung mga players,” said Bread Story coach Bonnie Tan. “They came up big late, lalo na yung three-pointer ni Wilson Baltazar. Dun kami nabuhayan at nagkakumpyansa sa end game.”
Bread Story-LPU will go up against third-seed CafeFrance in the quarterfinals on Thursday, with the Bakers owning a twice-to-beat edge. The game is at the Ynares Sports Arena at 2 p.m.
Viernes topped Racal Motors with his 23 points as they rounded out their schedule and exited the tourney with a 3-8 card. (RL)
The Scores:
First Game:
Bread Story-LPU 93 – Jalalon 20, Gabayni 14, Vigil 12, Zamora 9, Mbomiko 8, Bangga 6, Baltazar 5, Daquioag 5, Gamboa 4, Bulawan 4, Taladua 3, Lao 2, Corpuz 1, Elmejrab 0.
Racal Motors 90 – Viernes 23, Romero 13, Agovida 12, Jamito 11, Di Gregorio 11, Gabawan 7, Asuncion 4, Ruaya 4, Ambuludto 2, Saitanan 2, Ibay 1, Gil 0.
Quarters: 22-21, 39-44, 69-68, 93-90.
Second Game:
Cagayan Valley 104 – Melano 23, Galliguez 12, Trollano 11, Dilay 9, Mabulac 9, Tautuaa 8, Olayon 6, Capacio 6, Celada 6, Austria 5, Santos 4, Tayongtong 3, Flores 2.
Wangs Basketball 66 – Montuano 14, Vijandre 10, Purdy 9, Acosta 8, Montemayor 7, Morillo 6, Ferrer 4, Lina 3, Pontejos 2, Arambulo 2, Acuna 1.
Quarters: 16-9, 45-30, 73-49, 104-66.
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