Strong Gems finish stuns tired Erasers

A hot-shooting Cebuana Lhuillier crew routed Erase Xfoliant, 92-74, yesterday and moved up to solo sixth in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at Trinity University of Asia gym.

Jopher Custodio pumped in 25 points, 21 coming from beyond the arc, to lead the Gems, who trailed 33-45 at halftime before  outplaying the Erasers in the final half to improve to 3-3.

In one stretch in the third quarter, Custodio knocked in four straight triples to help the Gems pull away by 14 points, 66-52.

June Dizon finished with 15, while Paul Sanga fired 10 in the pivotal rally where the Gems outscored the Erasers, 33-7.

Earlier, Roider Cabrera also sizzled from three-point range as Boracay Rum snapped out of a losing spell with a 63-53 victory over Jose Rizal University-Air21.

Cabrera unloaded all but one of his 16 points from the three-point area, while Toto Bandaying also had 10 to help the Waves keep the rallying Bombers at bay in the final period and nail their first win  after dropping their first five games.

The scores:

First Game

BORACAY RUM 63—Cabrera 16, Bandaying 10, Eguilos 10, Ilagan 7, Acibar 5, Viernes 4, Siruma 3, Rosopa 2, Arellano 2, Taha 2, Sabelina 2, Santos 0, Monteclaro 0.

JRU-AIR21 53—Villarias 9, Caperal 8, Ighalo 7, Maiquez 6, Dela Paz 6, Mabulac 5, Apinan 3, Del Rio 3, Almario 2, Pinto 2, Miranda 2, Acidre 0, Lopez 0.

Quarters: 19-9, 36-28, 48-47, 63-53

Second Game

CEBUANA LHUILLIER 92—Custodio 25, Dizon 15, Aguilar 12, Sanga 10, Zamar 8, Buensuceso 6, Suguitan 5, Sarangay 4, Bautista 3, Mangahas 2, Mabayo 2, Banal 0.

ERASE XFOLIANT 74—Vidal 18, Gomez 15, Matute 11, Stevens 9, Najorda 6, Allen 6, Vijandre 5, Babayemi 4, Petillos 0, Banal 0.

Quarters: 17-26, 33-45, 66-52, 92-74