Batangas grabs solo 2nd

Team Batangas made short work of AMA Online Education, 95-76, to take solo second in the 2017 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Thursday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

Jared Bautista topscored for Batangas with 22 points, while Joseph Sedurifa and Cedric Ablaza combined for 27 points and 15 boards.

Batangas coach Eric Gonzales believes his team, which improved to 3-1, had made the most out of the lessons learned from last conference.
“It’s a big thing that they absorbed what you want in a team,” he said.

Still, Gonzales thinks that there are still things that his players need to improve, such as their discipline and timing.
“Whenever we play defense at the backcourt, that’s where we create offense for the opponent,” said Gonzales.

Batangas—which started strong with a 17-4 run in the first quarter—spoiled another solid outing of AMA’s Andre Paras, who grabbed 22 rebounds on top of 10 points and four blocks.

In the second game, Centro Escolar University tripped Zark’s Burgers, 78-62, for a 2-2 record.

Rodrigue Ebondo, who already posted a double-double in the first half, finished with another stellar performance of 23 points, 21 rebounds, two blocks, a steal and an assist to lead CEU. —KRISTOFER PURNELL