Racal smothers Gamboa in 2nd half to halt 3-game slide

Rian Ayonayon. PBA IMAGES

Racal Motors locked down Gamboa Coffee Mix in the second half to win, 107-60, in the 2017 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Monday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

After a tightly contested first half, the Alibaba limited the Coffee Lovers to just three points, the least points scored in a quarter in league history, that turned a close 47-45 deficit to a decisive 71-50 advantage.

Racal continued to choke the air out of Gamboa as the latter’s 13-point windup in the second half also registered as the worst scoring half in PBA D-League history.

Rian Ayonayon scattered 26 points, seven assists, five steals, and four rebounds to lead the Racal Motors assault.

Mac Tallo came off the bench and shot a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe to finish with 16 markers, on top of his two boards and two dimes, while Jam Cortes got 11 points and seven rebounds in the victory.

Racal finally ended its three-game losing skid and evened its record to 3-3.

“For now, it’s a good springboard for us. It gives us a lot of positivity and well build on that,” said coach Jerry Codiñera.

Gamboa continued its downward spiral as it incurred its sixth straight loss to fall to 1-6.

Mark Montuano got 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Coffee Lovers, while Mike Parala added 12 markers and 10 boards.

The scores:

RACAL MOTORS 107 – Ayonayon 26, Tallo 16, Cortes 11, Apreku 11, Pontejos 10, Gomez 8, Capacio 7, Grimaldo 6, Faundo 5, Lozada 5, Ortuoste 2, Mangahas 0, Dela Cruz 0, Cabrera 0.

GAMBOA COFFEE MIX 60 – Montuano 13, Parala 12, Avenido 10, Padilla 8 Acibar 7, Arellano 4, Acuña 3, Knuttel 2, Dadjilul 1, David 0, Riva 0, Vidal 0, Jumao-as 0.

Quarters: 24-20, 45-47, 71-50, 107-60.