Tanduay catches fire in the 3rd quarter, racks 3rd straight win

Lester Alvarez. PBA IMAGES

Tanduay had a blazing third quarter as it clobbered Gamboa Coffee Mix, 113-71, for its third win in the 2017 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Tuesday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

The Rhum Masters started off hot and went on a 23-0 blast to start the third frame as it unleashed 53 points in the period, the most points in a quarter in PBA D-League history, on a scorching 21-of-26 shooting from the field to turn a 37-34 halftime deficit to a decisive 87-49 lead.

Paul Varilla unloaded all of his 15 points in that killer third quarter, while also added two rebounds and two assists for the game.

Lester Alvarez also poured 10 of his game-high 17 markers in the third canto, to go with 11 assists and three boards, while Von Tambeling came out strong in the period to drop 13 points, three rebounds, and two dimes.

“I really laud Von Tambeling. I didn’t play him in the first half, but he was our spark in that third quarter,” said coach Lawrence Chongson, as Tanduay bucked its sluggish start and came out firing after the halftime break.

“The energy that was missing in the first half, I eventually saw it. They only needed some reminders and I’m glad that they responded,” he said.

Emil Palma also added 17 markers and eight assists, Adrian Santos got 15 points and eight boards, and Paul Sanga got 13 for the Rhum Masters, which led by as much as 44 late in the game.

Former Rhum Master Ken Acibar led the way for Gamboa (1-4) with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Mike Parala had 12 markers and seven boards in the loss.

The Scores:

TANDUAY 113 – Alvarez 17, Palma 17, Santos 15, Varilla 15, Sanga 13, Tambeling 13, Sollano 6, Taganas 4, Terso 4, Acidre 3, Gaco 2, Vigil 2, Villamor 2, Eguilos 0.

GAMBOA COFFEE MIX 71 – Acibar 16, Parala 12, Avenido 11, Acuña 8, Montuano 7, Padilla 6, Jumao-as 5, Riva 4, Vidal 2, Arellano 0, Dadjilul 0, David 0, Knuttel 0.

Quarters: 21-20, 34-37, 87-49, 113-71.