PBA D-League: Gems, Bakers complete Final 4

CEBUANA Lhuillier muscleman Norbert Torres beats Maclean Sabelina of Jumbo Plastic to the rebound in yesterday’s game at Filoil Flying V Arena. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

MANILA, Philippines—Cebuana Lhuillier sustained its upset bid, but No. 3 Cafe France avoided a shock exit as the Gems and the Bakers completed the Final Four cast Monday in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at Filoil Flying V Arena.

Unleashing a fiery finish, the Gems overcame the twice-to-beat advantage of the fourth-ranked Jumbo Plastic, 85-81, to arrange a semifinal duel versus No. 1 Cagayan Valley.

Norbert Torres and Paul Zamar accounted for Cebuana’s last six points as the Gems recovered just in time after the Giants had wiped out their early double-digit lead, 51-40, in the do-or-die quarterfinal match.

The Bakers, meanwhile, leaned on a strong second half to hack out an 81-68 rout of Bread Story-Lyceum and set up a Final Four showdown with the second-seeded Hapee squad.

Guard Aaron Jeruta fueled a pivotal 16-3 outburst as the Bakers turned a 52-53 deficit into a 12-point edge, 68-56, at the end of the third quarter.

“Our guards were outplayed [in the last game], so we challenged them and they stepped up,” said Cafe France coach Egay Macaraya.

Jeruta fired  a game-high 22 points, 12 coming from three-point range, while Joseph Sedurifa pumped in all of his 12 points in the second half.

Torres led the Gems with 17 points, highlighted by a jumper that gave them an 82-79 lead with 33.5 ticks left.

Allan Mangahas sparked the Gems’ strong endgame after the Giants had grabbed the lead, 73-67, behind Philip Paniamogan.

Mangahas’ triple and a basket off a steal tied the game at 73, before Simon Enciso’s three-point play and Zamar’s trey gave the Gems a 79-78 lead.

The scores:

First Game
CEBUANA LHUILLIER 85—Torres 17, Mangahas 15, Enciso 12, Vosotros 12, Ferrer 10, Zamar 8, Bautista 5, Guinto 3, Lopez 2, Villahermosa 1, Acibar 0, Sarangay 0.
JUMBO PLASTIC 81—Paniamogan 15, Sabelina 11, Tiongson 11, Eguilos 10, Khountin 8, Villamor 6, Colina 6, Javier 5, Cruz 3, Terso 3, Rios 3, Rosales 0.
Quarters: 28-24, 51-40, 65-59, 85-81

Second Game
CAFE FRANCE 81—Jeruta 22, Sedurifa 12, Ebondo 10, De Leon 9, Ahanmisi 7, Andrada 6, Alolino 4, Batino 4, Galanza 3, Cruz 2, Cortes 2, Abundo 0, Noble 0.
BREAD STORY-LYCEUM 68—Daquioag 11, Gamboa 10, Jalalon 10,Corpuz 9, Gabayni 6, Taladua 5, Bangga 5, Mbomiko 3, Bulawn 3, Baltazar 2, Zamora 2, Vigil 2, Lao 0, Elmerjab 0.
Quarters: 21-19, 37-42, 68-56, 81-68