Mon Abundo of Cafe France (dark) vs Mike Gamboa of Breadstory (light). PBA D-LEAGUE IMAGE by Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines–They had the recipe and they came off hot.
Fending off a pesky competitor, the Cafe France Bakers showed that they have the better dough against Bread Story Smashing Bakers, 88-74, at their matchup at the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup Thursday afternoon at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Cafe France squandered an 18-point lead in the second but put Bread Story in their mold in the fourth quarter with a 16-6 run that put the boards at 81-68 with Rodrigue Ebondo completing a four-point play to highlight the dash.
Bakers head coach Edgar Macaraya breathed a huge sigh of relief when his team regained its composure in the fourth, after the Smashing Bakers nearly took the game away.
“Fortunately we recovered,” Macaraya said as his team notched a 6-2 win-loss record, good for second in the standings. “The team wants a merry Christmas.”
With the game nearly clamped in their oven, the Bakers almost crumbled when the Smashing Bakers stormed their walls as Louie Vigil tied the game at 62 with less than 10 seconds remaining in the third.
Cafe France, however, would not budge and staged their run that displayed their class.
“This is a very good chance to get that twice-to-beat advantage in the semis,” Macaraya said.
Joseph Sedurifa was the top baker in the Battle of the Bread with 32 points and 12 rebounds.
Rodrigue Ebondo added 13 points and eight boards while Maverick Ahanmisi had 12 points and nine rebounds for Cafe France.
Joseph Gabayni led the 2-5 Smashing Bakers with 19 points and six boards.
Box scores:
Cafe France 88- Sedurifa 32, Ebondo 13, Ahanmisi 12, Abundo 9, Batino 6, Galanza 5, Cortez 4, De Leon 3, Jeruta 2, Andrada 2, Huertas 0, Celso 0, Noble 0.
Bread Story 74- Gabayni 19, Gamboa 16, Baltazar 14, Mbomiko 9, Bulawan 5, Vigil 5, Daquioag 4, Jalalon 2, Corpuz 0, Lao 0, Elmejrab 0.