Freego Jeans advances to quarterfinals

Freego Jeans drew spectacular performances from Eric Camson and Lester
Alvarez and the Falcons advanced to the quarterfinals of the PBA
D-league Foundation Cup by eliminating Maynilad, 88-81 on Thursday in
the first round of the knockout playoffs at The Arena in San Juan.

The 6-foot-4 Camson turned in a double-double effort with 25 points
and 12 rebounds while Alvarez, a 5-foot-8 smooth shooting guard, went
6 of 11 from the 3-point range to also finish with 25 markers for
Freego Jeans, which seized control in the third quarter before holding
off a late charge by Maynilad.

“From the moment we lost our first three games in the classification
round it became our goal prepare for the playoffs. I thought we are
peaking at the right time,” said Freego Jeans coach Leo Austria.

Blackwater also advanced to the next round but had to survive repeated
comebacks by the gutsy Junior Powerade Tigers for a 70-66 victory in
the other match.

Gio Ciriacruz scored 21 points and Ian Mazo added 18 to show the way
for the Elite, who lost their poise and their shooting down the
stretch.

The Tigers trailed 59-68 with under three minutes to play but scored
six straight points to pull within two on a basket by Mike Gamboa who
completed a steal off Andrian Celada.

Powerade had a chance to win the game but Alvin Padilla’s 3-point
attempt fell short and Blackwater cornered the rebound to seal the
win.

“We almost blew it. But the good thing is we still managed to win it,”
said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac.

Maynilad shot 51 percent in the first half but led by just 46-45 at halftime.

The Water Dragons have just returned home from a two-week basketball
training camp in the United States and Austria surmised jet lag has
something to do with their sluggish play.

“They looked tired. I thought they are still feeling the effect of the
long travel and we capitalized on it,” Austria said.

After Garvo Lanete made a free throw to make the count 51-49 in favour
of Maynilad, the Falcons responded with a 17-2 run and posted the game
biggest lead at 66-53. Alvarez scored nine, including two threes, in
that telling spurt.

Alex Nuyles turned in 18 points. He and Julius Colina grabbed nine
boards apiece as Freego Jeans outrebounded Maynilad, 45-44.

Jose Carmelo Lim scored 15 points and Lanete added 14 for the Watre
Dragons, who turned the ball over 16 times.

The game featured eight deadlocks and 13 lead changes but the second
half was an all Freego Jeans show.

The Water Dragons tried to keep the game close but they never really
established a momentum the entire game.

Freego Jeans will be facing Group B top-sded Cebuana Lhuillier on
Tuesday also at The Arena. 



The scores:
First Game
Freego Jeans 88 – Camson 25, Alvarez 25, Nuyles 18, Colina 7, Olalia
5, Galinato 3, Lozada 3, Canada 2, Namocatcat 0, Cabreara 0, Morillo
0.

Maynilad 81 – Lim 15, Lanete 14, J. Pascual 11, Hermida 9, Marcelo 9,
K. Pascual 8, A. Semerad 5, Caram 4, Dela Rosa 4, Semerad 2.

Quarters: 23-22; 45-46; 71-62; 88-81

Second Game

Blackwater 70 – Ciriacruz 21, Mazo 17, Celada 12, Acidre 8, Lapuz 5,
Saret 4, del Rosario 2, Belorio 1.

Junior Powerade 66 – Martinez 20, Ilad 9, Sison 9, Gomez 6, Gamboa 5,
Smith 5, Padilla 5, Jeffries 4, Gingerich 3,  Maniego 0, Juruena 0,
Wong 0.

Quarters: 20-13; 35-30; 52-51; 70-66.PR