Mar Villahermosa (light / big chill) vs Adrian Celada and Chris Canta (dark / cagayan) PBA D-LEAGUE IMAGE / Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines – Big Chill eluded a late-game collapse as it escaped Cagayan Valley 93-92 Monday in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Mar Villahermosa exploded in the second half, scoring 19 of his team-high 21 points, to help the Superchargers rebound from a loss to Cafe France in their previous outing.
“Big win especially against Cagayan. Because if we lose we would fall behind…so we really needed this win,” said Big Chill head coach Robert Sison. “I’m just happy the players responded to the call of the coaching staff and the management. Mar Villahermosa stepped up in this game.”
Big Chill led by as many as 14, 83-69, with 5:55 left before Cagayan closed to within one, 90-91, on five straight points by Joshua Webb.
The Rising Suns though, who blew a chance to grab a share of the lead in the standings, couldn’t take the lead after Chris Exciminiano muffed an easy layup with under 10 seconds left, which resulted in a breakaway basket by Terrence Romeo that gave the Superchargers a three-point cushion with 7.3 ticks remaining.
With no timeouts left, Cagayan’s final possession was a step back three from Mark Bringas, who had 26 points and 13 rebounds, which was way off.
Webb added 19 for the Suns, who slipped into a three-way tie with Cebuana Lhuillier and Big Chill in third place at 3-2.