Rios catches fires as Hog’s Breath thwarts Big Chill bid for no.1

Mark Canlas of Big CHill (dark) vs Jansen Rios of Hogs Breath Cafe (light). NUKI SABIO/ PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines — Jansen Rios caught fire in the fourth quarter and sparked Hog’s Breath to an 84-68 win which thwarted Big Chill’s bid for no. 1 spot in the 2014 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup on Thursday.

Rios poured all of his 18 points in the payoff period, where the Razorbacks sizzled in a 22-4 run that turned a 49-57 end of third deficit to a 10 point lead which they would never relinquish.

The Adamson standout also finished with 10 rebounds. Philip Paniamogan and Jonathan Belorio each chipped in 10 markers for Hog’s Breath.

Last year’s cellar-dwellers remained at fourth place at the close of the eliminations armed with a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals, while Big Chill basically handed the top spot to NLEX.

“Big Chill needs the win to be no. 1, while we just want to enter the quarterfinals [next week] with a good game,” said head coach Caloy Garcia.

Both squads couldn’t find their marks in the first half of a game which virtually had no-bearing for the post-season bids as Big Chill led 25-24.

But it felt like an entirely different game after the intermission as the Superchargers scored 32 in the third quarter, only to allow the Razorbacks to retaliate with 35 in the fourth.

Reil Cervantes led Big Chill with 17 points, 10 in the third, while Rodney Brondial and Dexter Maiquez contributed 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Already through to the semifinals, the Superchargers have the luxury of a longer break as they await the victors in the playoffs.