Blackwater claims last quarterfinal slot at the expense of Pacific Pipes

MANILA, Philippines—Virtually out of contention last week, Blackwater made the most out of its second chance in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup.

Leaning on Ice Ciriacruz, the Elite came out charging in the second half to dump RnW Pacific Pipes, 65-48, and claim the last quarterfinal berth on the final day of eliminations Tuesday at the FilOil-Flying V Arena in San Juan.

“It had to be in this kind of situation for this team to wake up,” said coach Leo Isaac, whose Elite also earned a reprieve last week when the commissioner’s office overturned their recent loss.

Earlier, NLEX also regained its fearsome form in the second half to hammer out a 107-89 rout of Café France and seal its hold of the top spot.

RR Garcia paced the Road Warriors anew with 25 points and Chris Ellis added 16.

“They (Bakers) needed this win, but we also needed this win to prepare for the semis,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez as the Road Warriors wrapped up their campaign with eight straight victories for a league-best 9-1 record.

Both NLEX and the second-running Cebuana Lhuillier (8-2) earned outright semifinal berths and will wait for the winners of the quarterfinal round, where Freego Jeans (7-3) and Big Chill (7-3) tote twice-to-beat incentives.

Big Chill will tangle with Blackwater at 2 p.m., while Freego will go up against Boracay Rum in the other pairing at 4 p.m. at the start of the quarterfinals on Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

The Elite, who ended their elimination run at 5-5, got back in the running last week when the commissioner’s office nullified their last setback, 66-72, versus Cobra, which fielded an ineligible player.

The scores:
First Game
NLEX 107—Garcia 25, Ellis 16, Lanete 14, Sangalang 13, Abueva 9, Hodge 7, Belencion 6, Suguitan 4, Marcelo 4, Dehesa 3, Reyes 2, Co 2, Arao 2.
CAFE FRANCE 89—Montilla 31, Viernes 18, Antipuesto 10, Parala 9, Guillen 7, Mabayo 6, Abundo 4, Lucernas 3, Dumapig 1, Orbeta 0, Magbitang 0, Jasmin 0.
Quarters: 24-15, 49-45, 84-60, 107-89
Second Game
BLACKWATER 65—Bautista 13, I. Ciriacruz 11, Fortuna 11, Bringas 9, Pascual 8, G. Ciriacruz 5, Afuang 4, Camus 3, Manalo 1, Acidre 0.
PACIFIC PIPES 48—Racal 8, Zulueta 8, Delgado 6, Miranda 6, Ilagan 6, Buensuceso 5, Dela Cruz 2, Del Rio 2, Sanvictores 2, Maiquez 2, Semira 1, Knuttel 0, Antonio 0.
Quarters: 9-13, 26-21, 51-32, 65-48