Do-or-die D-League QF duels Monday

Inspired after earlier toppling the higher seeds, Cebuana Lhuillier and Bread Story-Lyceum try to become the unlikely semifinalists in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup today.

The newcomer Pirates try to overcome the twice-to-beat advantage of No. 3 Cafe France at 4 p.m., right after the Gems bid to do the same against fourth-ranked Jumbo Plastic at 2 p.m. at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

“We already got one, so just one more step,” said Pirates coach Bonnie Tan. “It’s still 50-50. But hopefully, we learned something from [our last] victory and capitalize on it.”

The Pirates and the Gems forged the do-or-die quarterfinal matches after upsetting the favorites in the series opener last Thursday.

“Jumbo is a strong team, so I’m sure they’ll make adjustments,” said Gems coach Boycie Zamar. “The good thing is everything is now even. It now all depends on the mindset of the players.”

The winner in the Jumbo-Cebuana duel will go up against Cagayan Valley, the top seed with a perfect 11-0 record, while the victor in the Bread Story-Cafe France match will clash with No. 2 Hapee in the semifinals.

“No one expected us to be here,” Tan said of the Pirates, the only new team to advance past the elimination round.

The Pirates surprisingly dominated the Bakers for most of the game to carve out a 79-72 victory behind Jiovani Jalalon and Jackson Corpuz’s combined 42 points.

Paul Zamar and Allan Mangahas, meanwhile, took charge in the endgame to power the Gems past the Giants, 63-53.

The Bakers, though, hope to avoid an upset with Maverick Ahanmisi, Joseph Sedurifa and Gelo Alolino.