PBA D-League: Jeff Viernes leads Cafe France over Freego Jeans

Jeff Viernes took matters into his own hands scoring the last nine points of Café France to stun Freego Jeans, 78-76, in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at The Arena in San Juan.   Viernes erupted for 24 points in the game and kept hitting big shots one after another to propel Café France to a 3-5 win-loss record. The Bakers remained in contention for a quarterfinal berth behind fifth-running RnW Pacific Pipes (4-3), Blackwater (3-3), Boracay Rum (4-5) and PC Gilmore (3-5).   “Even though we lost to Cebuana Lhuillier before Christmas, at least we were able to get the win in the New Year,” said Café France coach Egay Macaraya. “They are really motivated because they know that we still have a chance at the quarterfinals.”   Viernes tied the game with a triple at 72-72 then hit a jumper to grab the lead. He shook off Lester Alvarez on their next play and scored a triple for a 77-73 lead with 25.2 seconds to play in the game.   Alvarez drilled a three and Viernes scored a free throw to make it a 78-76 Café France lead but Bacon Austria and Eric Camson failed to convert their shots that would have nodded the game up. Alex Nuyles missed a three-pointer as time expired.   Freego had a 68-63 advantage on a 6-0 run with seven minutes to play in the game but Café France continued to press it on until it got a break in the end game.   The Bakers will encounter rough sailing in their next games as they will still face DUB Unlimited and the powerhouse NLEX team in their remaining outings.   Nuyles finished with 22 points for Freego, which slid to a 6-3 mark for third place in the team standings.   Cebuana Lhuillier (8-1) also gained an outright semifinal berth with Freego’s defeat. - OMG, GMA News