D-League warmup: Café France pips Pacific Pipes

MANILA, Philippines—Cafe France  came out with all guns  blazing in the second  half to  bring down  Pacific Pipes, 75-68, and  barge into the win column  in  the  Cebuana Lhuillier-Pera Padala Invitational basketball championship at the Ynares Center in Pasig.

Hardly  bothered  by  its  46-81 loss  to  Cebuana Lhuillier on  opening day Thursday, Café France  went to Jeff Montilla and Marvin Dumapig to frustrate Pacific Pipes and clinch its first win   in two   matches in this short, four-team   tournament hosted by Cebuana  Lhuillier  owner Jean Henri Lhuillier as  part of the buildup for the coming PBA Developmental League next week.

Montilla finished with 18 points, while  Dumapig added 15 points to lead  Café  France, which is hoping to make an impact with a lineup built around Centro Escolar University players.

Café France team manager Bernard Yang was obviously satisfied with  the victory, which came after a blowout  loss to Cebuana Lhuillier.

“Our  main objective in joining this tournament is to give our players enough exposure before the start of the D-League,” said Yang. “Right now, they are showing a lot of potential.”