MANILA, Philippines – Jumbo Plastic got back at Blackwater with a vengeful 76-68 win Monday in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
“The challenge to the players coming to the game was Blackwater was the reason we failed to make the semis last conference. I thought they responded well,” said Jumbo Plastic coach Stevenson Tiu. “Beating them was sort of fulfilling.”
The Giants got booted out by the Elite in the Aspirant’s Cup semifinals despite having a twice-to-beat edge.
Jumbo Plastic also rebounded from its opening game defeat to Cebuana Lhuillier last week – a loss Tiu said served as an early wakeup call.
Johper Custodio had 19 points for the Giants, who went on a 14-3 run in the first quarter and never let up. Jumbo Plastic led, 25-15, early on a trey by Jerick Cañada before padding onto its lead, 54-32, in the third quarter.
Blackwater shot just 38% from the field while also missing 16 out of its 27 free throw shots. It also did not help that it was sloppy with the ball—turning it over 16 times that led to 21 turnover points for Jumbo Plastic.
Don Trollano posted 19 points for the Elite, who dropped to 0-2 in their bid to win a back-to-back Foundation Cup crown despite beefing up their roster.
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