Jaymo Eguilos vs Alvin Padilla, Michael Parala and JP Magbitang. Nuki Sabio/PBA
MANILA, Philippines — Roider Cabrera scattered nine of his 15 points in the fourth period to help Boracay Rum dispatch Cafe France 62-58 Thursday in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao.
Cabrera nailed a three-pointer with three minutes left which put the Waves ahead by eight, and his two freebies with 7.2 seconds left sealed the victory after the Bakers pulled within two.
Boracay Rum’s fourth straight victory puts the Waves in a prime spot to clinch a quarterfinals berth with just a game left in the eliminations.
“It was an ugly win but we’ll take it,” said Boracay Rum coach Lawrence Chongson.
The Waves recovered from an abysmal 0-5 start in the conference, and has Fruitas standing in their way from getting into the next round.
“Four down, one to go. I have analyzed all the possibilities. If we win our last game against Fruitas, we’ll make the quarters,” declared Chongson.
Marcy Arellano, whose addition to the squad gave stability in the back court added 10 points for the Waves, who used a strong rebounding edge to make up for their 20 turnovers.
The Bakers, meanwhile, have lost three straight games since their huge victory over NLEX last year and dropped to 4-5.
Roger Pogoy led Cafe France with 17 points and 13 rebounds while Josan Nimes and Mike Parala added 11 and 10, but were still unable to stop the skid of Cafe France.
The Bakers took a 44-43 lead on a trey by Nimes, who was activated in lieu of Marion Magat, with 2:12 left in the third quarter but the Waves closed the period with a 6-2 run to take the lead for good.
The scores:
Boracay Rum 62 – Cabrera 15, Arellano 10, Eguillos 8, Siruma 7, Viernes 6, Bandaying 6, Ilagan 4, Santos 2, Acibar 2, Taha 0, Monteclaro 0.
Cafe France 58 – Pogoy 17, Nimes 11, Parala 10, Magbitang 5, Padilla 4, Knuttel 4, Batino 3, Mendoza 2, Lopez 2, Alas 0, Antipuesto 0.
Quarters:18-17; 33-31; 49-46; 62-58