Big Chill rounds out D-League semis cast
Mar Villahermosa drained a pair of clutch triples as Big Chill outlasted Fruitas in overtime, 89-83, yesterday to clinch the last semifinal berth in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at Blue Eagle Gym in Loyola Heights.
Villahermosa knocked in a three-pointer with just six-tenths of a second left to forge the extra period, 75-75, before teaming up with Terrence Romeo in overtime to complete the Superchargers’ upset of the Shakers.
“I never thought we’re going to win this game until Villahermosa’s shot went in. He was a revelation in this game,” coach Robert Sison said after his Superchargers overcame the twice-to-beat edge of the Shakers in the quarterfinals.
Romeo, who topscored with 20 points, also drilled a key triple after Villahermosa nailed his second, giving the Superchargers an 87-81 buffer with 27.4 ticks left in the extra period.
Big Chill hopes to pull off another upset in the Final Four when it takes on four-time champion NLEX in the best-of-three series at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
No. 2 Blackwater Sports and Boracay Rum tangle in the other duel at 4 p.m.
“We had a bad second quarter but we made the right adjustments,” said Sison as his wards came back from a 13-point halftime deficit, 27-40, and also rallied from 69-75 in the last quarter.
The Superchargers forged the do-or-die game after downing the Shakers, 77-72, last Tuesday.
Jeckster Apinan shared scoring honors with 20 and pulled down 14 boards.
Fruitas’ top gunner Carlo Lastimosa was held to five points on a woeful 2-of-13 shooting clip. With reports from Nico Pascual, Patty Perez, Nikka Valenzuela
The scores:
BIG CHILL 89—Romeo 20, Apinan 20, Lozada 16, Canlas 12, Villahermosa 9, Montilla 5, Bringas 4, Heruela 3, Dumapig 0, Santos 0.
FRUITAS 83—Escobal 18, Pogoy 14, Cruz 12, Caram 8, Colina 8, Antonio 6, Mendoza 5, Lastimosa 5, Semira 4, Tolomia 2, Sentcheu 1.
Quarters: 14-13, 27-40, 55-63, 75-75 (reg.), 89-83 (OT)
