Paul Desiderio shoots over Zach Nicholls. PBA IMAGES
Cafe France brushed off its early struggles and uncorked a scathing third quarter charge to clip Victoria Sports-MLQU, 95-84, Thursday in the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Paul Desiderio and Rod Ebondo teamed up in the third quarter as they used a 17-4 tear to recover from a 44-32 halftime deficit and turn it to a 49-48 midway through the frame. That was just half of the 38-point explosion the Bakers fired in the period as they regained control of the ballgame, 70-61, and led by as high as 13, 93-80 with three minutes left to play.
“The boys wanted to win so much that they played erratic. So in the second half, we focused on playing defense and that did the trick for us,” said coach Egay Macaraya, as Cafe France extended its winning streak to four and improved to 5-1.
Ebondo paced the Bakers with 27 points, 18 rebounds, and five blocks, while Desiderio poured 15 of his 20 markers in that killer third quarter to go with nine boards.
Aaron Jeruta added 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while Jeepy Faundo and Rich Guinitaran combined for 20 for Cafe France, which had to fight back after being down by as much as 14, 44-30 late in the first half.
Robbie Herndon fired 20 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for Victoria Sports, but that still wasn’t enough as it sunk to its fifth defeat in six outings.
Aris Dionisio also had 14 markers and 12 boards in the loss.
The scores:
CAFE FRANCE 95 — Ebondo 27, Desiderio 20, Jeruta 11, Faundo 10, Guinitaran 10, Manlangit 8, Calisaan 7, Aquino 2, Arim 0, Casino 0, Gabriel 0, Veron 0, Wamar 0.
VICTORIA 84 — Herndon 20, Dionisio 14, Grimaldo 11, Sorela 10, Nicholls 8, Koga 6, Ayonayon 5, Bitoon 4, Lao 4, Ragasa 2, Mag-isa 0.
Quarters: 17-21, 32-44, 70-61, 95-84. RAM
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