Accelerators eye fourth D-League win, share of No. 1 spot

PHOENIX-FAR Eastern University tries to stay unbeaten in four games against an opponent that boasts its own set of varsity stars in the main game of the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup Monday.

Bannered by the core of UAAP champion FEU, the Accelerators go for a share of the lead versus Caida Tiles at 4 p.m. at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Accelerators coach Eric Gonzales reminded his wards that they face rough sailing against the Tile Masters, who are led by Arellano’s standout guard Jiovani Jalalon, Letran’s Rey Nambatac and top rookie pick Jason Perkins of La Salle.

“Caida is a tough opponent,” said Gonzales. “Hopefully, we can give them a fight.”

The Accelerators have been riding on the solid games of Mac Belo and Mike Tolomia.

University of the Philippines-QRS/Jam Liner, meanwhile, hopes to arrest a two-game skid against the winless Mindanao Aguilas at 2 p.m.

Lessons learned

The Tile Masters hope to recover from a first loss to Cafe France, which rallied from 24 points to win, 90-87, last Thursday.

The Bakers survived a lackadaisical start, clawing back from a 28-52 deficit in the second period behind the stellar play of Carl Bryan Cruz and Paul Zamar to halt the Tile Masters’ three-game winning run.

Cruz fired 26 points and Zamar wound up with 25.

“We have to learn from this experience,” said Caida coach Caloy Garcia. “It’s still a long season and we just have to learn to play together.”

Aside from Belo and Tolomia, the Accelerators get ample support from fellow FEU reliables Roger Pogoy and Raymar Jose and Ed Daquioag of University of Santo Tomas.

“We just have to be thankful,” Gonzales said of their strong start. “We might be champions, but this is another league. We have to respect every opponent.”