MANILA, Philippines — League-leading Hapee rang in the new year the way they ended the last.
The Fresh Fighters remained unbeaten following a 70-60 win over Racal Motors in the 2015 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup on Monday at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao.
Hapee played with a thin frontcourt minus its key centers Arnold Van Opstal and Ola Adeogun but the Fresh Fighters were able to fill the hole through total team effort.
“I thought our bigs collectively worked together defensively,” said Hapee coach Ronnie Magsanoc. “We were really outsized by our opponents. We were having a hard time rebounding but fortunately our defense clicked in the second half.”
Hapee played with only nine players and seven of them had at least six points. Troy Rosario stood out with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field to go along seven rebounds while Garvo Lanete and Ray Parks dished out all-around games.
Lanete had nine points, six rebounds and four assists and Parks scattered six points, nine rebounds, six assists and three blocks.
The Fresh Fighters, now at 9-0, leaned on a 23-12 run in the second quarter to grab control of the game.
Van Opstal and Adeogun are spending the holidays with their families in Germany and Nigeria, respectively.