PBA D-LEAGUE IMAGE by Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines – Jumbo Plastic regrouped in the fourth quarter to beat Derulo Accelero, 73-61, in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup Tuesday at the Blue Eagle gym.
Jan Colina scored seven of his game-high 19 points in the payoff period as the Giants moved into a tie with idle Hog’s Breath Café in third place at 7-2.
“We could have won the game easily but the players lost their discipline in the third quarter. They forgot the essence of teamwork and it nearly cost us the game. Thankfully, we recovered in the fourth,” said Jumbo Plastic coach Steven Tiu.
Jumbo Plastic led and lost a 12-point lead in the third quarter as Derulo Accelero cut the deficit to three, 48-45, on a couple of free throws by Mark Jeffries before Colina keyed in a telling 7-0 Giants run that kept the Oilers at bay.
The former Adamson slotman Colina had five of his team’s seven unanswered points with his rare 3-pointer widening Jumbo Plastic’s gap back to double-digits as Derulo never threatened again.
Ex-pro Jason Ballesteros added 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks while playmaker Elliot Tan dished out eight assists for the Giants.
Jackson Corpuz notched a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds for the Oilers (1-9), who played minus a key contributor with Raul Soyud sitting the game out due to injury.