Bakers survive Titans in OT

MANILA, Philippines — Having assured itself of a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals, Cafe France had to battle back from a double-digit deficit late to beat AMA University, 74-68, in overtime in the 2015 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup on Monday at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao.

Bakers’ Fil-American guard Maverick Ahanmisi buried a 3-pointer with 10.9 seconds left in regulation to force extra session with both teams tied at 62. Ahanmisi also grabbed 12 rebounds.

“I thought we developed our character in this game. We showed we can come back even if we play very poor basketball game,” said Cafe France coach Egay Macaraya.

Samboy de Leon scored six of his 14 points in extra time while Rodrigue Ebondo had 18 points, 11 coming in the fourth quarter to help Cafe France improve to 8-2.

It was the Bakers’ second straight game where they outlasted their opponents in OT after turning back the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems last Thursday.

The Titans took a 56-45 lead after a triple by Jay-R Taganas with 4:36 remaining in the fourth period. But they went on a dry spell in the next two and a half minutes while the Bakers went on a 14-1 run to knot the count at 57.

With the loss, AMA bowed out of playoff contention.