D-League: Cebuana, Big Chill drub foes
CEBUANA Lhuillier and Big Chill forged a three-way tie for second spot with convincing wins yesterday in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at San Juan Gym.
A flurry of triples in the second half boosted the Gems to a 101-84 drubbing of Blackwater Elite, while Big Chill held off Junior Powerade, 73-61, for its fourth win in its last five games.
Lester Alvarez went 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, while Kevin Alas also buried two triples, fueling a surge that allowed the Gems to pull away from the highly-physical contest and give new coach Beaujing Acot his first win as Cebuana Lhuillier coach.
With the victory, the Gems, who hit nine triples in the second half, improved to 4-2, tying the Superchargers and the Elite at second.
“This win is a bonus for us as the players are still trying to adapt to my system,” said Acot, whose squad snapped a three-game win streak by the Elite.
The Superchargers drew big games from Keith Jensen and Alex Mallari to frustrate the Tigers, who fell out of playoff position after absorbing their fourth loss in six games.
Jensen wound up with 18 points, while Mallari pumped in 17, including 15 in the last two quarters.
“We cannot afford to lose any more games so it was important that brought our A-game,” said Big Chill coach Robert Sison. With a report from Randolph Leongson, Contributor
The Scores:
First Game:
BIG CHILL 73—Jensen 18, Mallari 17, Reyes 11, Montilla 8, Tan 7, Cortes 3, Collado 3, Viernes 2, Ponferrada 2, Glorioso 2, Villahermosa 0, Santos 0
JR POWERADE 61—Reyes 11, Escueta 10, Cubo 10, Padilla 9, Manuel 9, Gamboa 8, Lopez 2, Silungan 2, Wong 0, Juruena 0, Gingerich 0, Hipolito 0
Quarters: 18-7, 36-28, 52-50, 73-61
Second Game:
CEBUANA LHUILLIER 101—Manuel 20, Alas 18, Alvarez 18, Exciminiano 10, Mangahas 8, Lozada 8, Llagas 6, Atkins 6, Almazan 5, Apinan 2, Austria 0, Maconocido 0
BLACKWATER 84—Zamar 13, Bautista 13, G. Ciriacruz 13, Mandani 12, Nabong 11, Pascual 8, Jeffries 6, Camus 4, Celiz 4, Montemayor 0, Fortuna 0, I. Ciriacruz 0
Quarters: 17-20, 46-40, 78 -63, 101-84
