Gems, S’masters break tie

THREE teams hoping to enhance their semifinal chances take the floor today in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the San Juan Gym.

Sporting identical 4-2 records, Cebuana Lhuillier and RnW Pacific Pipes break their tie for second when they clash at 5 p.m.

Big Chill, also at 4-2, tries to move out of the four-team logjam against a Boracay Rum squad in danger of missing the playoffs.

The Superchargers are coming off a 73-61 conquest of Junior Powerade last Tuesday.

But the Waves, with a 2-3 record, will be treating the match as a do-or-die affair with their playoff hopes hanging in the balance.

Boracay Rum will pin its hopes on Kokoy Hermosisima, Ken Acibar and Stephen Siruma, who played key roles in the 67-65 win over the Cagayan Rising Suns two weeks ago.

The Superchargers pose matchup problems in versatile big man Keith Jensen and crafty swingman Alex Mallari. Jensen and Mallari combined for 19 points in the final period of Big Chill’s win over Junior Powerade.

The Steelmasters will be staking their four-game winning run against the Gems. The streak is actually the second-best in the conference just behind NLEX’s six-game victory run.

During the stretch, RnW coach Pido Jarencio has gotten huge performances from big men Raymond Ilagan and Raymond Aguilar.

It was Rocky Acidre, though, who shot the big baskets in the 90-87 nipping of Cagayan.

“We hope to sustain this momentum,” said Jarencio.

The Gems are fresh from a 101-84 conquest of Blackwater Elite.

The backcourt tandem of Lester Alvarez and Kevin Alas sparkled against the Elite, complenting the strong inside game of Vic Manuel.