Adrian Celada of Cagayan (light) vs Robin Rono of NU-BDO (dark). PBA D-LEAGUE IMAGE by Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines — Cagayan Valley made shots down the stretch to deny a National University-BDO rally, 101-92, in the 2014 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup Monday at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao.
Andrian Celada and Don Trollano drained 3-pointers in the final 3:03 to put the game away and help the Rising Suns improve to 8-3.
“This is a big win for us. We are looking to finish the eliminations in third or fourth place,” said Cagayan Valley assistant coach Nonoy Bonleon. “This win certainly kept us on target.”
While Celada and Trollana hit the big shots, big man Mark Bringas led the way in scoring for the Suns, who assured themselves of a quarterfinals seat, with 21 points on top of 14 rebounds.
Celada, the former Arellano University star, extended Cagayan’s lead to seven, 97-90, with 2:30 left just 33 seconds after Trollano made his triple. Celada finished with 20 points while Trollano had 16.
The Suns moved into a tie with idle Hog’s Breath in fourth place with identical 8-3 marks.
The game marked Cagayan’s first in more than a month since dropping a 75-89 decision to Big Chill last December 12 but the long layoff didn’t seem to affect the Rising Suns’ rhythm.
The also-ran Bulldogs pulled to within a point, 90-91, with 3:23 to go after consecutive treys by Troy Rosario and Robin Roño before the Suns restored order behind timely baskets from Celada the Trollano.
Rosario led all scorers with 24 points while Ray Parks returned from a sprained ankle and tallied 15 but not even Parks’ comeback would be enough for NU, which dropped to 2-8.