Cafe France levels series

CAFE France didn’t just fold up in its first trip to the Finals.

Sizzling-hot from the get-go, the Bakers subdued Hapee, 76-70, Monday at Ynares Sports Arena to forge a rubber match for the PBA D-League Foundation Cup championship.

“They gave all they got in this game—all their hearts, effort and energy,” said Cafe France coach Egay Macaraya after his Bakers squared the best-of-three series to 1-1.

Samboy de Leon fired 14 points, nine coming from beyond the arc, to pace a balanced charge as the Bakers led all the way and pulled ahead by as many as 18 points, 43-25.

Alfred Batino—who was scoreless in the Bakers’ 72-83 Game 1 loss—rebounded with 11 points on a 5-of-6 shooting clip and Rod-rigue Ebondo also posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards.

“We played very good defense, that’s the key,” said Macaraya. “Everybody, as a team, stopped Hapee. In Game 1, our offense was also off. Thank God, our threes went in this time.”

The do-or-die Game 3 is set at 3 p.m. on Thursday, also at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

CAFE France’s Rodrigue Ebondo blocks Hapee’s Nico Elorde in yesterday’s hotly contested Game 2 at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Behind Batino and Ebondo, the Bakers built a 12-point advantage, 19-7, right in the first quarter and sustained their surge with De Leon stringing eight points to help extend the lead to 31-14.

Hapee big man Ola Adeogun sat out the entire game due to a hamstring injury.

Compounding the Fresh Fighters’ woes were the injuries sustained by key cogs Baser Amer (shoulder) and Art dela Cruz (knee).

Team managers Bernard Yang of Hapee and Cafe France’s Jun Tiongco later figured in a verbal altercation following Dela Cruz’s bad fall. Both team officials got ejected.

The scores:

CAFE FRANCE 76—De Leon 14, Batino 11, Ebondo 10, Sedurifa 9, Jeruta 8, Abundo 8, Poligrates 8, Ahanmisi 7, Cortez 1, Galanza 0, Miranda 0, Noble 0, Andrade 0.

HAPEE 70—Newsome 15, Dela Cruz 14, Rosario 13, Thompson 9, Elorde 6, Romero 5, Amer 3, Mendoza 3, Sorela 2, Gamboa 0, Villahermosa 0, Koga 0.

Quarters: 21-12, 45-30, 62-48, 76-70