Juneric Baloria of Big Chill (light) vs Jason Melano and Michael Parala of Cagayan (dark). Nuki Sabio/PBA
MANILA, Philippines — Bolstered by a strong start, Big Chill sent Cagayan Valley crashing with an 89-75 win Thursday in the 2013 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The Superchargers zoomed to a 14-3 advantage early and never looked back, turning a supposedly interesting match-up between contenders this season into a laugher.
Big Chill improved to 8-1 and moved closer to a bonus in the post-season, while snapping a two-game streak of Cagayan Valley, which dropped to 7-3.
Four from Big Chill contributed double-digit points with Jeckster Apinan leading the way with 15 points and Reil Cervantes and Bryan Heruela chipping 13 each.
“I’m so pleased with the way the players responded. They know how much this game means to our campaign and everybody contributed,” head coach Robert Sison said.
The Superchargers led by as many as 22 at the end of the third quarter, but the Rising Suns fought back by opening the fourth with a strong attack then eventually bringing the lead down to nine.
But 68-77 was the closest Cagayan, which is fresh off a huge win over Jumbo Plastic last Monday, got in its comeback attempt.
Andrian Celada led all scorers with 19 for the Rising Suns, while Mark Bringas finished with 13. John Pinto, who exploded with 22 in their last game, was held to just two points.