PBA D-League Playoff Chase Resumes January 3

The chase for playoff berths in the season-opening Philippine Basketball Association D-League Aspirants' Cup resumes in earnest on January 3 with nine of the eleven competing teams still in contention for post-elims berths.

Three of the teams - pace-setting Cebuana Lhuillier (8-1), Freego Jeans (6-2) and Big Chill (6-3) are sure to make it while NLEX (5-1) is also practically there.

The Gems and Road Warriors, finalists in the inuagural D-League tournament earlier this year, collide on January 12 with possibly one outright semifinals berth on the line with the loser probably battling the Jeans Makers for the other outright spot if current form holds up.

The Superchargers hope to lock on to the second twice-to-beat quarterfinals edge but if Blackwater (3-3), RnW Pacific Pipes (4-3) or Boracay Rum (4-4) catch fire in January, Big Chill may have to go through a playoff to get that lofty placing.

PC Gilmore (2-5) and CafeFrance (2-5) both have an outside shot of making the Top Six but may need to win their remaining games. DUB Unlimited (1-7) and Cobra Energy Drink (1-8) are out of contention but could play the spoilers' role in the final six playdates.

Cebuana Lhuillier has been sizzling behind the heady performances of forward Vic Manuel and guards Terrence Romeo and ex-pro Jai Reyes and hope to get Kevin Alas back for the stretch run after the Letran guard spent several weeks in the US on a training trip.

NLEX has the core of the SEA Games gold medal winning team in its fold, with six members of the Sinag Pilipinas team in its fold as well as San Sebastian's frontline but the loss of sniper Roland Pascual (ACL) means Garvo Lanete and Chris Ellis have to step up their games alongside RR Garcia, Calvin Abueva and Clifford Hodge.

Freego Jeans also lost a vital cog when back-up guard Jer4ick Canada opted to turn pro overseas, leaving a huge gap behind star playmaker Lester Alvarez in the team's rotation though they finally have standout wingman Alex Nuyles healthy again to join Eric Camson, Janus Lozada and Bacon Austria.

Dark horse Big Chill needs consistent performances from Fil-Ams Alex Mallari, Keith Jensen and Elliot Tan as well as local workhorses Raffy Peyes, Jopher Custodio and Jessie Collado to go further in the tournament.(pr)

Cebuana Lhuillier topples PC Gilmore, 83-55

Games on Tuesday
(The Arena)
3 p.m. – Cebuana Lhuillier vs NLEX


Cebuana Lhuillier got significant contributions from just about
everybody and toppled the overmatched PC Gilmore Wizards, 83-55, in
their knockout semi-final duel Thursday that sent the Gems into the
championship series of the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Ynares
Sports Arena in Pasig City.

The Gems got their game going early and pulled away in the third
quarter as Kevin Alas and James Sena took over the scoring and
frustrated their rivals.

Narciso Llagas was the most consistent scorer among the Gems, going 9
of 10 from the field and finishing with a game-high 19 points that
went with his 10 rebounds for a double-double.

The Gems, the Group B top seed, also got outstanding efforts from
James Sena (11 points) and Ariel Mepana, who did a good job in taking
away the games of the Wizards’ big men.

They will need a lot of it in the finals.

The NLEX Road Warriors put on a dominating performance in the other
semi-final to smother Max! Bond Super Glue, 74-61, and arrange a title
duel with Cebuana Lhuillier.

Game 1 of the best-of-three series will start on Tuesday at The Arena
in San Juan.

The Road Warriors’ intention of securing their place in the
championship series was never in doubt.

They displayed their A-1 game. They got their offensive rhythm early.
And they punished the Sumos off the boards.

Their spectacular performance effectively put the Road Warriors in
total control by halftime, 43-25.

“Three-fourths of our job is done. Now, we have to prepare for Cebuana
Lhuillier. I think it will be tough series,” said NLEX coach Boyet
Fernandez.

Calvin Abueva scored 19 points, Ronald Pascual had 14 and Eric Salamat
added 11 for the Road Warriors, who outshot and outrebounded their
rivals before slowing down a bit in the fourth.


“I thought we rotated well and did a good job on defense,” said
Cebuana Lhuillier coach Luigi Trillo.

He admitted that PC Gilmore was not as deep as his team but cited the
Wizards downfall to their poor shooting. The Gems enjoyed their
biggest lead at 81-53 on Llagas’ basket with 2:50 remaining in the
game.

“I think their shooters – Carlo Lastimosa, Jett Vidal and Allan
Mangahas – got a lot of good looks. They just didn’t fall.”

As a team, the Gems shot 53 percent (31 of 59). They also dominated
the boards, 50-32, and were unselfish with their 25 assists.

In a game that mattered most, the Wizards played their worst. They
were slow on defense, they allowed themselves to be pushed around and
to make matters even worse, PC Gilmore made just 31 percent (19 of 61)
of its attempts.

The most significant threat encountered by the Gems came in the second
quarter when Vidal (8 points) layup to pull the Wizard within 24-26
with 3:59 left in the period.

But Cebuana Lhuillier quickly responded with 14-3 run to close the
quarter and led 38-29 at the half. Llagas and Allein Maliksi each
scored five points in that spurt and PC Gilmore never got closer then
eight points the rest of the way.

“It’s a humbling experience. It’s nice to be in the finals. But
there’s still job to be done. We can’t underachieve and be happy on
advancing to the finals,” Trillo said.

Jam Cortes and Eric Agas each scored 13 points for PC Gilmore.
Lastimosa, usually among the Wizards’ top scorers, managed just 9
points on 3 of 10 shooting and Mangahas, another marksman, turned in 5
points on 2 of 9 clip.

The scores:
First Game
Cebuana Lhuillier 83 --Llagas 19, Maliksi 13, Sena 11, Alas 9, Elinon
7, Fernandez 6, Mepana 6, Canta 6, Mandani 2, Hayes 2, Lee 2,
Bagatsing 0, Semira 0.


PC Gilmore 55 – Agas 13, Cortes 13, Lastimosa 9, Vidal 8, Mangahas 5,
Acosta 4, Parala 2, Dysum 1, Magbanua 0, Sarangay 0, Sorongon 0, Sinco
0, McCoy 0, Almasan 0.

Quarters: 17-14; 38-29; 65-48; 83-55.

Second Game

NLEX 74 – Abueva 19, Pascual 14, Salamat 11, Hodge 7, Co 7, Taganas 5,
Menor 4, Ellis 4, Sanggalang 3, Belencion 0, Raymundo 0.

Max! Bond Super Glue 61 – Cervantes 16, Cabatu 12, Lingganay 10,
Bautista 6, Navarro 5, Teng 4, Hugnatan 4, Fortuna 2, Benites 2, Cuan
0, Camus 0, Afuang 0.

Quarters: 25-14; 43-25; 65-38; 74-61.PR

PC Gilmore outplays error-prone Blackwater Perfume, 92-75

PBA D-League Foundation Cup
Team Standings

               Group A

                                           W     L
NLEX                                   4     1
PC Gilmore                           4     2
Black Water                          3      3
Pharex                                   2      3
RnW Pacific Pipes                2      4
Freego Jeans                          1      3
              Group B
                                            W     L
Cobra Energy Drink              3      1
Cebuana Lhuillier                 3     1
Max! Bond Super Glue         3     1
FCA                                      3       1
Maynilad                               3      3
Junior Powerade                    1      4
Café France                           0      5

Games Tuesday
 (San Juan Arena)
2 p.m. – Pharex vs Freego Jeans
4 p.m. – FCA vs Cobra energy Drink






PC Gilmore clinched the second outright quarterfinal berth in Group A
by outplaying an error-prone Blackwater Perfume, 92-75, Thursday in
the classification round of the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the San
Andres gym in Manila.

After a close first half, the Wizards pulled away in the third quarter
by outscoring the Elite, 29-16, and making 56 percent of the field
goal attempts in the period.

Carlo Lastimosa turned in 22 points on 10 of 15 shooting and Allan
Mangahs added 20 for the Wizards, who closed out their campaign with a
4-2 record and joined Group A leader NLEX (4-1) in the second round of
the knockout playoffs.

“Medyo gigil ang mga bata sa first half. But soon as we got our rhythm
in the third quarter everything fell into place,” said PC Gilmore
coach Richard del Rosario.

“This is a big achievement for me and the team. Nobody expected us to
be here but we work our way the hard way.”
Ian Mazo topscored for Blackwater with 25 points but Andrian Celeda
was the only other Elite in double figure with 14.

The Wizards led by just 44-43 when Mark Sarangay completed a 3-point
play and Jett Vidal (17 points) knocked a three pointer to spark a
21-7 blast that stretched their lead to 65-48.

The Elite pulled within 61-70 on a layup by Mazo with 6 minutes left
to play but threw away crucial possessions when they needed to score.
Blackwater finish the classification round with 3-3 mark.

Earlier, the FCA Cultivators got themselves a pretty good shot for an
outright quarterfinal berth in Group B by dispatching Café France,
87-80.

Mark Canlas scored through three quarter and Sean Co accounted for 14
and the Cultivators used a 17-3 run in the first quarter to seize
control.

Allan Husted, a 6-foot-1 guard with a soft touch from the perimeter,
also had stellar performance. He scored 11 points, dished seven
assists and had three steals as FCA improved to 3-1 (win-loss) record.

That mark earned the Cultivators a piece of the lead in Group B
alongside Cebuana Lhuillier, Cobra Energy Drink and Max! Bond Super
Glue and turned the hunt for the two outright quarterfinal berths up
for grabs into a guessing game.

“I’m happy with how we played but we committed lot mental lapses in
the second half,” offered FCA coach Arsenio Dysangco. “Generally, I’m
pleased with how we responded in the last two minutes.”

Everything was going well for the Cultivators until forward Alfred
Gerilla provided the sour note in the second quarter. In his effort to
free himself against Leymund Babad, Gerilla brushed his elbow against
Babad’s face that drew him a flagrant foul penalty 2 and his ejection
with 5:48 left in the second.

“I hope he don’t get suspended,” said a worried Dysangco. FCA test the
mettle of Cobra Energy Drink next Tuesday.

Jewel Ponferida, a 6-foot-5 center with good post-up moves, scored 19
points and had nine rebounds for Café France. Ildefonso Bulangis added
14 and Grevanni Rublico had 13.

The Scorpions kept the game close in the second half, pulling within
77-81 on a 3-pointer by Rublico with 2:28 remaining.

But they lacked the finishing kick and the only winless team in the
league absorbed its fifth straight loss.

The count was tied at 13-13 when Mark Canlas completed a three-point
play before Husted made two free throws and lay-up to get their
decisive run going.

Co, who was named best player of the game, ended that run with
back-to-back 3-pointers that catapulted the Cultivators to a 30-16
advantage late in the opening quarter. They never trailed after that.

Café France made 51 percent of their field goal attempts (23 of 41)
while FCA shot just 48 percent (35 of 77). But Scorpions committed 22
turnovers that turned into 24 FCA points. FCA also outrebounded Café
France, 45-36.

The scores:
First Game
FCA 89 – Canlas 16, Co 14, Bulawan 13, Mallari 11, Husted 11, Gerilla
8, Maconocido 8, Cole 4, Reyes 2, Pascual 2.

Café France 80 – Ponferada 19, Bulangis 14, Rublico 13, Mabayo 12,
Babad 12, Banas 4, Almario 2, Mejos 1, Gallardo 0, Magbitang 0, Garcia
0.

Quarters: 31-21; 52-41; 75-58; 89-80

Second Game
PC Gilmore 92 – Lastimosa 22, Mangahas 20, Vidal 17, Magbanua 8,
Sarangay 6, Cortes 6, Agas 5, Acosta 3, Almazan 2, Parala 2, Dysam 1,
Sinco 0, McCoy 0, Sorongon 0.

Blackwater 75 – Mazo 25, Celeda 14, Ciriacruz 9, Ablaza 6, Acidre 4,
Lapuyz 4, Caperal 4, Belorio 4, Zulueta 3, Saret 2, Del Rosario 0,
Ihalas 0.

Quarters: 23-18; 39-39; 68-55; 92-75.PR

PC Gilmore plasters RnW Pacific Pipes, 75-59

PBA D-League Foundation Cup
Team Standings

               Group A

                                           W     L
NLEX                                   3     1
Black Water                          3      1
PC Gilmore                           3     2
Pharex                                   2      2
Freego Jeans                          1      3
RnW Pacific Pipes                1      4

              Group B
                                            W     L
Cebuana Lhuillier                 3     1
Max! Bond Super Glue         2     1
Cobra Energy Drink              2      1
FCA                                      2       1
Maynilad                               3      3
Junior Powerade                    1      3
Café France                           0      3

Games Thursday
 (Arellano U gym, Legarda)
2 p.m. – Cobra Energy Drink vs Café France
4 p.m. – NLEX  vs Blackwater Perfume


After a woeful shooting in the first half, PC Gilmore exploded for
10 3-point shots in the second half and plastered RnW Pacific Pipes,
75-59, Tuesday in the classification round of the PBA D-League
Foundation Cup at the Letran gym.

The Wizards made just 32 percent of their shots (12 of 38) in the
first half but seized control late in the third quarter as Pacific
Pipes continue to struggle with its offense.

Eric Agas showed the way for PC Gilmore with 15 points. Jett Vidal had
13. Allan Mangahas added 11, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Jam Cortes cornered 13 rebounds as PC Gilmore outrebounded Pacific Pipes, 52-45.

“Our shooting in the first half didn’t click. We’re missing easy
lay-ups and free throws. We we’re tight. Siguro dahil sa haba ng
break. But I told the guys if we can’s score we must at least get
stops. Good thing we made our shots we when we needed,” said PC
Gilmore coach Richard del Rosario.

In Group B play, Cebuana Lhuillier weathered a fiery charge by
Maynilad down the stretch and got away with a 91-89 victory.

Obviously, the Gems learned from their stunning 73-77 loss against
Junior Powerade. They played with a high level of urgency and energy
against Maynilad and didn’t back down when the Water Dragons became
physical.

Emotions ran high in the second half with Maynilad coach Frankie Lim
getting tossed from the game with 7:14 remaining for continuous
complaining.

“We played with a great team effort,” said Cebuana Lhuillier coach
Luigi Trillo, who reserved his praise for guard Kevin Alas.

“He is a Letran Knight but he played with a heart of a Lion,” Trillo said.

Allein Maliksi led all scorers with 28 points. Alas had 27, including
his teams last six points in the final 45 seconds to secure the win.

Cebuana Lhuillier improved to 3-1 while Maynilad closed out its
classification round assignment with a 3-3 mark.

The Gems shot 54 percent in the first half to built a 52-36 advantage
that held on till the end.

Garbo Lanete’s basket with 53 seconds left pushed Maynilad to within
82-85 to make the game exciting but the Water Dragons ran out of time.

The Wizards made 19 of 40 attempts in the second half and 10 of 20
3-point tries. In contrast, Pacific Pipes shot just 13 of 29 and was 1
of 4 from 3-point range.

The Wizards, who bounced back from an 87-88 loss against NLEX two
weeks ago, improved to 3-2 (win-loss) record in Group A to remain in
the hunt for an outright spot in the second round of the playoffs.
Pacific Pipes picked up its fourth loss in a row and fell to 1-4.

“Our game against Blackwater is crucial,” Del Rosario said. The
Wizards and the Elite wind up their classification round campaign on
May 5.

Anthony del Rio’s two free throws put Pacific Pipes ahead for the last
time at 44-43, before PC Gilmore closed out the third quarter with 7-1
run. Luis Sinco ended the spurt with a 3-pointer to give the Wizards a
50-45 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Wizards extended the lead to 13 by scoring the first eight points
of the fourth.

The Wizards highlighted their second half shooting spree by knocking
their last five baskets from the behind the arc.

Vic Manuel led Pacific Pipes with 20 points but didn’t get enough
support from his teammates. Jim Viray was the only other players in
double figure with 13.

The Scores:
First Game

PC Gilmore 75- Agas 15, Vidal 13, Acosta 12, Mangahas 11, Sinco 5,
Lastimosa 4, Magbanua 4, Cortes 4, Almazan 2, Sorongan 2, Parala 2,
Sarangay 1, Dysam 0, McCoy 0.

RnW Pacific Pipes 59 – Manuel 20, Viray 13, Del Rio 8, Ilagan 5,
Cornejo 4, Musni 3, Leynes 2, Delgado 2, Sabelina 2, Importante 0,
Tirona 0, Lansang 0.

Quarters: 11-10; 26-25; 50-45; 75-59

Second Game

Cebuana Lhuillier 93 – Maliksi 28, Alas 27, Mandani 16, Cena 6, Llagas
6, Nabong 5, Hayes 2, Elimon 2, Bagatsing 1, Semira 0.

Maynilad 85 – Lanete 25, Marcelo 12, Pascual J. 12, Hermida 10, Dela
Rosa 9, Semerad A. 6, Lim 3, Semerad 2, Pascual K. 2, Caram 2,
Diputado 2.

Quarters: 28-16; 52-36; 72-61; 93-85.PR