Wangs, Boracay fan slim D-L bids

ROIDER Cabrera (right) of Boracay Rum pops a three-pointer against the defense of Arellano-Air21’s Levi Hernandez. AUGUST DELA CRZ

Wangs Basketball survived Derulo Accelero’s late fighback to prevail, 81-71, in a battle of struggling newcomers in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup yesterday at Ynares Sports Arena.

Michael Juico pumped in a game-high 25 points built on an 11-of-16 clip apart from collecting four rebounds, five assists and three steals to lift the Couriers to their third triumph.

Boracay Rum regained its winning ways as Chris Banchero fired 20 points to power the Waves past Arellano-Air 21, 71-63, in the first game.

Although the winning squads remained outside the top six, Wangs (3-4) and Boracay Rum (3-5) expect to make a strong push late in the eliminations.

Only six of the 14-team field will advance to the next round, with the top two earning outright semifinal berths.

“At 3-5 we still have a chance,” said Boracay Rum coach Lawrence Chongson. “This is an obstacle given to us, but we’ll continue to work hard. We’ll see what happens.”

The Waves staged a 12-2 run to pull away by double-digits in the second half, 61-50, after a slim 49-48 lead.

“We’ll just keep fighting,” said Wangs coach Pablo Lucas after his Couriers survived the Oilers’ late run that nearly wiped out their 15-point advantage, 69-54, in the last five minutes.

The scores:

First Game

BORACAY RUM 71—Banchero 20, Siruma 11, Cabrera 11, Tagarda 6, Ilagan 6, Viernes 5, Sabellina 4, Arellano 3, Rosopa 3, Taha 2.

ARELLANO-AIR21 63—Arquero 14, Rogado 10, Hernandez 9, Bangga 8, Fran 7, Webb 6, Jalalon 4, Bartolo 2, Palma 2, Mendoza 1, Cortes 0, Acidre 0.

Quarters: 18-19, 36-37, 56-48, 71-63

Second Game

WANGS BASKETBALL 81—Juico 25, Lopez 14, Banal 11, Acosta 10, Franco 8, Ilad 5, Vijandre 4, Galliguez 2, Escueta 2, Gomez 0, Saitanan 0, Castro 0.

DERULO ACCELERO 71—Corpuz 19, Soyud 15, Roncal 10, Manuel 7, Bautista 6, Jeffries 4, Morillo 4, Bonifacio 2, Gingerich 2, Importante 2, Dilay 0, Wierzba 0, Juruena 0.

Quarters: 16-12, 30-35, 63-52, 81-71