JOnathan Belorio (dark/hogs breath) vs Maclean Sabellina PBA D-LEAGUE IMAGE / Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines—With utmost confidence in his players, Boracay Rum head coach Lawrence Chongson let his bench play significant minutes while his starters get some rest.
Hog’s Breath took advantage and almost cost Boracay the game but nonetheless, the Waves edged the Razorbacks, 72-68, Monday in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Arena in San Juan.
“It’s an opportunity para magamit ko yung mga seldom-used players ko,” said Chongson. I decided to sit down my key players for a long stretch, hayaan muna lumapit ang Hog’s Breath tignan natin kung paano kami magre-react.”
The Waves blew a 20-point lead before working their way out of trouble thanks to athletic forward Maclean Sabellina, who scored nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and pulled down a key rebounds late in the game.
The Razorbacks, who fell to 1-5, pulled to within five on a runner by Ronald Roy, 62-67, with still 1:38 left. Chris Cayabyab had the chance to get Hog’s Breath closer on a fastbreak play but unwisely opted for an out-of-rhythm jumper from the right elbow instead of driving hard to the basket.
Sabellina stretched his team’s lead back to seven, 69-62, with under a minute left after Roy misfired on a floater.
“If we can squeak in two or three games in our next four we’ll be fine,” added Chongson, who added that his team needs to improve on its consistency.
Roider Cabrera had a game-high 20 points in just 15 minutes for Boracay Rum, which improved to 4-3 while Jonathan Belorio had 15 points and nine rebounds for Hog’s Breath.