Raymond Aguilar, John Lopez and Gab Banal (Dark / Cebuana) battles for rebound against Billy Robles (Light / Hogs Breath)
MANILA, Philippines — Cebuana Lhuillier banked on a fierce start to clobber Hogs Breath Cafe, 84-62, Tuesday in the 2013 PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Arena in San Juan.
The Gems built a commanding lead, 47-27, at halftime and left the Razorbacks little room to stage a comeback especially with Kevin Racal leaving the game.
“It’s the turning point for them and for us. I think he’s the face of Hogs Breath,” said head coach Beaujing Acot. “It was a big loss for them.”
Racal, who has been Hogs Breath anchor on the offense, had to be brought to the dugout and didn’t come back, seemingly hurting his knee after a bad fall as he went to guard Paul Zamar’s three-point attempt.
It was a much-needed win to get back on track for Cebuana Lhuillier, which is struggling to pull away with a threatening run this conference.
After stunning NLEX, the Gems succumbed to Blackwater two weeks ago.
“This a crucial win. Bigla kaming umangat sa 3-4, kung natalo kami biglang bagsak sana kami sa 8-9,” said Acot as his squad improved to 3-2.
Alvin Padilla starred in that run that gave the Gems the upperhand in the first half and he finished with 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Gab Banal and Zamar added 14 and 12 points, respectively, for Cebuana Lhuillier.
Without Racal for the majority of the game, the Razorbacks leaned on Michael Lima and Mark Pangilinan to bring in the points.
Lima finished with 12 while Pangilinan added 10. Jonathan Belorio, who was also in Acot’s scouting report, had nine points.