HAPEE SECURES D-LEAGUE ASPIRANTS’ CUP SEMIS BERTH
Hapee will have a happy Christmas break as it clinched an outright semifinals berth Monday in the 2015 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup, turning back cellar dweller MP Hotel, 84-63, at the Marikina Sports Center.
Bobby Ray Parks once again showed the way for the Fresh Fighters, as he had 18 points and six rebounds, while Ola Adeogun got a double-double with his 12 markers and 14 boards.
“I thought Ray Ray (Parks) did another good job on both ends,” said Hapee coach Ronnie Magsanoc.
“I thought MP played its best basketball today. Mahirap kalaban pag tumatama. And we didn’t defend the way we’re supposed to,” added Magsanoc, who had to find a way to fend off a pesky Warriors squad which kept itself withing reach for three quarters.
Chris Newsome proved to be that spark, firing nine points in the payoff period to finish with 10 to help Hapee pull away in the end.
Art de la Cruz also got 12 in the win where the Hapee bench outscored MP Hotel’s substitutes, 47-16, and kept the Fresh Fighters unscathed after eight outings.
Reden Celda paced MP Hotel with 14 points and seven assists, while Jessie Collado had 13 markers.
Jan Jamon also added 11 points, Wowie Escosio got 10 for the Warriors, who dropped their sixth straight game and slid to 1-7.
In the first game, MJM bucked the absence of coach Nash Racela and stopped its three-game slide with a 79-64 win over Wangs Basketball.
Mike Tolomia led the offensive attack for MJM with his 15 points, and Carl Bryan Cruz added 10 markers and six boards for the 2-6 M-Builders.
With Racela busy with Talk ‘N Text in the PBA Philippine Cup semis, assistant coach Eric Gonzales took the lead as the M-Builders’ bench harassed the Couriers, 41-27. All but one of the players fielded in by Gonzales managed to score.
Jawhar Purdy made his debut for Wangs (2-5) with his 12 points, and Jeff Morillo chipped in 11.
In the third game, Cagayan Valley held on and escaped with a 95-89 overtime decision over Racal Motors to preserve its 7-0 record.
“Baka naging overconfident. Nagpalitan ng momentum, humabol sila. Buti na lang, nalusutan namin,” said Cagayan Valley assistant coach Nonoy Bonleon, who was filling in for coach Alvin Pua.
Pua served the first of his three-game suspension on top of the P50,000 fine he incurred for his recent misconduct.
Don Trollano led Cagayan Valley with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Moala Tautuaa also missed out on a double-double with his 11 points and nine boards for the Rising Suns.
After being down by as big as 21, Jeff Viernes carried Racal back to the game in the second half and even gave the Alibaba an 84-82 lead in the final 56.8. However, Racal then turned the ball over which led to an easy lay-up by Michael Mabulac to tie the game at 84 with 22.4 ticks left.
Viernes’ potential game-winning jumper missed which led the game to an extra five minutes.
But it was a different ballgame in the overtime period, as the Alibaba misfired on their end and Raphy Reyes committed costly turnovers, leading to easy points for Cagayan.
The Rising Suns also pulled together behind Trollano, Andrian Celada, and Jai Flores to erect an insurmountable 93-88 lead in the final 36.8 to notch their seventh win this conference.
Viernes’ 34-point, 11-rebound outburst went to waste as Racal Motors fall to 2-6. (RL)
The Scores:
First Game:
MJM 79 – Tolomia 15, Cruz 10, Jose 9, Perez 8, Khobuntin 8, Pogoy 6, Neypes 6, Belo 5, Matias 4, Mendoza 3, Inigo 3, Javelona 1, Alolino 1, Alberto 0.
Wangs Basketball 64 – Purdy 12, Morillo 11, Acosta 10, Rosopa 10, Ferrer 6, Montemayor 6, Montuano 4, Pontejos 2, Acidre 2, Marquez 1, Acuna 0, Lina 0.
Quarters: 28-16, 49-41, 63-54, 79-64.
Second Game:
Hapee 84 – Parks 18, Adeogun 12, Dela Cruz 12, Newsome 10, Rosario 9, Van Opstal 7, Lanete 7, Long 5, Sorela 4, Amer 0, Koga 0, Thompson 0, Mendoza 0, Hayes 0.
MP Hotel 63 – Celda 14, Collado 13, Jamon 11, Escosio 10, Pacquiao 7, Yaya 6, Calo 2, Allen 0, Bulac 0, Blanco 0, Quiro 0, Rogado 0, Landicho 0, Palma 0.
Quarters: 23-16, 38-28, 59-49, 84-63.
Third Game:
Cagayan Valley 95 – Trollano 16, Salamat 15, Tautuaa 11, Galliguez 9, Dilay 8, Celada 7, Flores 7, Mabulac 7, Austria 6, Tayongtong 5, Mag-isa 2, Melano 2, Capacio 0.
Racal Motors 89 – Viernes 34, Gabawan 11, Jamito 11, Ortuoste 9, Ibay 8, Di Gregorio 5, Mercader 3, Gil 3, Reyes 2, Saitanan 2, Ruaya 1, Ambuludto 0, Canta 0.
Quarters: 27-11, 50-32, 67-61, 84-84, 95-89.
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