Big Chill nails quartersfinals spot

MANILA, Philippines — Leaning on the sizzling duo of Jessie Collado and Jopher Custodio, Big Chill froze winless PC Gilmore, 96-83, to boost its bid for a quarterfinal bonus in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup Friday at the Meralco gym.

Collado and Custodio, both waxing hot from beyond the arc, combined for all but 12 of the team’s 46 first-half points to fuel a strong start and lift the Superchargers to their sixth triumph in nine games.

In the second match, Chris Ellis and RR Garcia teamed up for 43 points as NLEX picked up its third straight triumph, 97-62, versus DUB Unlimited to prop up its own quarterfinal bid.

A 6-foot-1 swingman, Custodio drilled 22 of his 24 points in the first half built on a 6-of-9 shooting clip from three-point range.

Collado, a 6-foot-3 forward from Lyceum-Subic Bay, also nailed 6-of-12 triples to finish with 22 points aside from collecting three boards and a couple of blocks.

The Superchargers already secured at least a quarterfinal berth along with idle leaders Freego Jeans and Cebuana Lhuillier, both tied at 6-1.

The top two teams at the end of the eliminations will secure outright semifinal slots, while the third and fourth placers will earn twice-to-beat incentives in the quarterfinals.

“We are still working on our chemistry, especially on the defensive end,” said Big Chill coach Arsenio Dysangco. “But at least we achieved our first goal of making it to the quarterfinals.”

Calvin Abueva added 15 points in the Road Warriors’ lopsided victory as the defending champions climbed to the fourth spot with a 4-1 record.

Dub Unlimited skidded to its sixth loss in seven games, while PC Gilmore remained winless in five outings.

The scores:
First Game
BIG CHILL 96—Custodio 24, Collado 22, Ponferrada 15, Reyes 15, Mallari 10, Jensen 6, Glorioso 2, Maconocido 2, Tan 0, Santos 0, Dizon 0.
PC GILMORE 83—Agas 19, Sarangay 16, Vidal 13, Mandani 12, Cagoco 8, Taha 7, Sorela 4, Celiz 2, Acosta 2, Foronda 0.
Quarters: 24-18, 46-36, 71-59, 96-83
Second Game
NLEX 97—Ellis 22, Garcia 21, Abueva 15, Hodge 10, Sangalang 8, Taganas 6, Monfort 6, Co 4, Suguitan 3, Dehesa 2, Belencion 0, Reyes 0.
DUB UNLIMITED 62—Teng 17, Zamar 13, Aguilar 9, Gomez 6, Hugnatan 6, Bolos 4, Leynes 3, Melegrito 2, Gonzales 2, Bustos 0, Tapang 0, Maniago 0.
Quarters: 24-9, 49-31, 74-51, 97-62