Carl Cruz. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
CafeFrance stood its ground and claimed the top seed in the 2016 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup after topping Phoenix-FEU, 83-74, Thursday at Ynares Sports Arena.
“Number one lang ito. As I’ve said sa mga bata kanina, at stake yung number one spot and it’s a good motivation and morale booster para sa quarterfinals,” said coach Egay Macaraya.
Rod Ebondo captained the Bakers with 26 points and 19 rebounds, while Mar Villahermosa chipped in 13 markers.
Carl Bryan Cruz also collected 11 points and eight boards, Samboy de Leon had 11 markers, and Mon Abundo got 10, including the a left corner jumper with 22.0 seconds to go to put the game beyond reach and set the final score.
“The boys played well, they didn’t want to lose, and they executed our gameplan,” said Macaraya, as CafeFrance limited the Accelerators to just 74 points, compared to their average of 97.5 points per game.
Alfrancis Tamsi topped Phoenix-FEU (5-2) with 17 points.
The Accelerators played the game without Roger Pogoy (hamstring) and Raymar Jose (sprained ankle), and will wrap up their eliminations schedule on Monday against Mindanao.
The Scores:
CAFEFRANCE 83 – Ebondo 26, Villahermosa 13, Cruz 11, De Leon 11, Abundo 10, Jeruta 5, Opiso 3, Manlangit 2, Zamar 2, Arim 0, Celso 0.
PHOENIX-FEU 74 – Tamsi 17, Tolomia 9, Mendoza 7, Pascual 7, Andrada 6, Belo 6, Ri. Escoto 6, Daquioag 5, Ru. Escoto 5, Inigo 4, Lee Yu 2.
Quarters: 15-18, 41-43, 65-58, 83-74.