PBA D-League newbie Erase Plantcenta spoils Cagayan's debut

Rookie squad Erase Plantcenta bounced back from an opening-game loss by whipping fellow newbie Cagayan Rising Suns, 90-68, in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at The Arena in San Juan City.

 

Erase Plantcenta notched its first win after suffering a 74-57 thrashing from the Café France Bakers last week to start its D-League campaign.  

"We had played good defense that's why we executed our offense well. We shot well offensively unlike in our game against Café France that's why we won,” said Erase Plantcenta coach Yong Garcia.

Mark Acosta and Jefferson Vidal had monster games especially from the three-point range combining for 51 points, 10 on three-pointers.

 

After enjoying a 39-30 halftime lead, Erase Plantcenta outscored Cagayan in the third, 31-22, to pull away. Vidal's four-point play pushed a 65-44 edge into a 70-52 advantage after three quarters. Cagayan never threatened after that as Erase Plantcenta cruised until the final buzzer.

 

The Rising Suns debuted without head coach Alvin Pua, who started serving his three-game suspension after punching a referee during a tune-up game prior to the conference.

 

Junar Arce had 16 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in the Rising Suns' losing cause. Lucas Tagarda added 15 markers, 10 rebounds and seven assists while Gerald Lapuz had 10 points. — JVP, GMA News