B’water, Hog’s whip D-L rivals
BLACKWATER Sports and Hog’s Breath Cafe distanced themselves early to dump separate opponents and stay among the early leaders in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup yesterday at Blue Eagle Gym.
Banking on Kevin Ferrer’s hot start, the Elite cruised to a 91-69 blasting of Zamboanga M-Builders in a lopsided outing where they virtually held a 20-point buffer most of the way.
“We want to continue our good habits,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac after the Elite, last conference’s champion, improved to 4-1. “Even if we saw the match heading to a rout, we didn’t want to play relaxed.”
The Razorbacks also fought with no let-up, rolling to a 93-69 triumph over Cebuana Lhuillier to stay unbeaten in four games.
Philip Paniamogan dropped 13 of his 19 points in the second half where the Razorbacks outscored the Gems, 23-7, in one stretch to turn a 49-48 lead to a 17-point gap, 73-55.
“I told the players that even if we lack height, all we have to do is keep running and hope the other team will get tired,” said Hog’s Breath coach Caloy Garcia.
Although undersized, the Razorbacks still dominated the Gems in the rebounding department, 66-47.
Jamil Gabawan chipped in 14 markers and eight boards for the Razorbacks.
Ferrer paced the Elite with 17 points, while Gio Ciriacruz finished with 11 markers.
The Builders fell to 2-4, while the Gems skidded to their fourth loss in five matches.
The scores:
First Game
BLACKWATER SPORTS 91—Ferrer 17, Ciriacruz 11, Cruz 10, A. Manguera 9, Bulawan 8, Mangahas 7, Pe 6, Llagas 5, Bagatsing 4, J. Mangahas 4, Austria 4, Suguitan 4, Avillanoza 2, Reyes 0.
ZAMBALES M-BUILDERS 69—Tolomia 14, Wong 13, D. Semerad 12, Pogoy 8, Saret 5, Doligon 5, Ignacio 4, Gomez 4, Pinas 2 2, Cruz 2, A. Semerad 0, Maniago 0, Vidal 0.
Quarters: 17-14, 44-22, 66-46, 91-69
