Giants beat Waves, eye twice-to-beat quarters edge

Elliot Tan and Jan Colina FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Jumbo Plastic drew all-around efforts from starters Elliot Tan and Jan Colina to beat Boracay Rum, 86-72, and bolster its bid for a twice-to-beat quarterfinals incentive in the 2014 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup Tuesday at the Trinity University of Asia Gym in Quezon City.

Guard Tan led the way with 17 points, 14 in the second half, to go along with seven rebounds and five assists while power forward Colina added 16 points on top of seven rebounds, all at the offensive end, four steals and a block.

“It was a big game for us to avoid any complications in the standings,” said Jumbo Plastic head coach Steve Tiu after his team bounced back from a 70-89 whipping at the hands of defending champion NLEX last Thursday.

“He (Colina) is playing good [basketball] unlike our last game where almost everyone were out-of-sync,” said Tiu, whose squad would most likely lock up the third seed if it takes care of its last elimination round game against Cebuana Lhuillier. “We’re really looking at the third or fourth spot for us to have a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.”

The Giants, who upped their record to 9-3, took a 59-44 lead after three quarters but needed to hold off the Waves in the fourth quarter.

Jeff Viernes hit two free throws that trimmed Jumbo Plastic’s lead down to eight, 75-67, with 1:04 left but Tan immediately responded with a 3-pointer from the top-of-the-key with 44.7 ticks left to clinch the game.

“He is one of our go-to-guys,” Tiu said of Tan.

Chris Banchero paced Boracay Rum with 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals while Stephen Siruma chipped in 12 points. The Waves slid to 5-6 with their playoff hopes fading fast.