PBA-DL: Rising Suns go winless, Junior Powerade ekes out OT win

Blackwater Sports clinched a spot in the quarterfinals of the PBA D-League Foundation Cup while outclassing the hapless Cagayan Rising Suns, 106-82, Tuesday at the San Juan Gym. AJ Mandani led five Blackwater players in double figures with 18 points as the Elite bounced back from consecutive losses to book a seat in the next round with a 5-3 win-loss record. "It's tough to bounce back after losing two in a row. But the players know we have to win to make the next round and they responded well," said Blackwater Sports coach Leo Isaac. Gio Ciriacruz scored 15 points, Kelly Nabong and Jeric Fortuna had 14 each and Clark Bautista added 13 for the Elite, which posted a big lead in the first quarter en route to a 55-35 halftime edge.

Jason Melano dropped a game-best 25 points, but it wasn't enough as Cagayan sank to a 0-9 scorecard. In the second game, the Junior Powerade Tigers shocked the RnW Pacific Pipes Steelmasters in overtime, 87-79, to close out their campaign with a victory. Alvin Padilla had eight of his 19 points in the extra session, including a three-point play that lifted the Tigers to an 80-75 lead. That was enough for Junior Powerade, with its core of UP Fighting Maroons, to notch win number three in nine outings. Claude Cubo scored 11 points and sent the game into overtime by converting a tough two-pointer with 3.5 seconds to go in the fourth period. The Steelmasters dropped to 4-4 and lost the opportunity to secure a quarterfinal berth. The scores: First Game Blackwater Sports 106 – Mandani 18, G. Ciriacruz 15, Nabong 14, Fortuna 14, Bautista 11, Pascual 8, Zamar 7, Jeffries 7, Celiz 6, I. Ciriacruz  2, Camus 2, Montemayor 2, Lo 0. Cagayan 82 --  Melano 25, Arce 16, Bulangis 9, Villanil 9, Agas 8, Lao 6, Cortes 2, Eman 2, Gatchalian 2, Chiu 2, Macuha 1, Custodio 0. Quarter scores:  27-14; 55-35; 76-57; 106-82. Second Game Junior Powerade 87 – Padilla 19, Silungan 15, Gamboa 13, Hipolito 11, Cubo 11, Lopez 8, Manuel 4, Juruena 3, Escueta 3. Pacific Pipes 79 –Aguilar 16, Teng 15, Rogado 12, Colina 7, Ilagan 7, Gonzales 5, Te 2, Acidre 2, Sanvictores 1, Antonio 0, Elinon 0, Delgado 0. Quarter scores: 24-16; 38-31; 49-53, 72-72; 87-79.