Cervantes alley-oop lifts Blackwater past Boracay

MANILA, Philippines — Reil Cervantes made the most out of a fraction of a second as Blackwater Sports escaped past Boracay Rum in overtime, 96-94, to boost its playoff drive in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup Monday at JCSGO Gym.

Cervantes nailed an alley-oop with three-tenths of a second left off an inbound pass from Kevin Ferrer to seal the win that put the Elite inside the top four with a 4-3 record. Blackwater coach Leo Isaac said the Elite have been practicing that “special play” regularly in practice.

“We’re lucky we were able to use it in an actual play,” said Isaac.

In other games, Cafe France arrested a four-game slide with a 70-66 triumph over Cagayan Valley while Derulo Accelero downed Hog’s Breath Cafe, 82-78.

Cervantes, who also tied the game at 94 with 37 seconds left, finished with a game-high 27 points on a notable 11-of-17 shooting clip while also grabbing seven rebounds.

Jericho Cruz buried 15 points and Mark Cruz chipped in 14 for the defending champion Elite, who still have a shot at the top two spots to gain outright entry to the Final Four.

The Bakers also stayed in quarterfinal contention with a 3-4 slate after the crucial win over the Rising Suns.

The scores:

First Game

BLACKWATER SPORTS 96—Cervantes 27, J. Cruz 15, M. Cruz 14, Ciriacruz 10, Bulawan 10, Austria 8, Ferrer 7, Mangahas 5, Hernandez 0, Llagas 0, Pe 0, Trollano 0, Pinto 0.

BORACAY RUM 94—Belo 16, Lingganay 15, Cabrera 14, Bautista 10, Roño 9, Ilagan 8, Caperal 6, Ignacio 6, Tagarda 4, Sabelina 4, Siruma 2, Taha 0.

Quarters: 23-24, 43-41, 62-57, 82-82 (reg.), 96-94 (OT)

Second Game

CAFE FRANCE 70—Ebondo 14, Cortez 10, Abundo 10, Sedurifa 9, De Leon 8, Jeruta 6, Montilla 5, Acidre 3, Batino 3, Gallardo 2, Mutombo 0.

CAGAYAN VALLEY 66—Daquioag 17, Ighalo 13, Gomez 7, Collado 6, Revilla 5, Olivares 5, Casajeros 3, Suguitan 3, Galliguez 3, Webb 2, Vidal 2, Lao 0.

Quarters: 14-18, 36-33, 54-52, 70-66

Third Game 

DERULO ACCELERO 82—Jalalon 28, Juico 13, Corpuz 12, Soyud 10, Mendoza 7, Importante 7, Bautista 5, Pao 0, Roncal 0, Morillo 0.

HOG’S BREATH CAFE 78—Najorda 16, Racal 13, Robles 11, Ruaya 11, Sanga 8, Terso 7, Publico 6, Gabawan 4, Austria 2, Belencion 0, Gonzales 0.

Quarters: 18-21, 29-40, 54-62, 82-78