PBA-DL: Blackwater blasts Cafe France, NLEX dominate late

Blackwater Sports and the NLEX Road Warriors notched separate dominant wins Thursday, at the Ynares Sports Arena, to stay at the top of the standings in the 2012-13 PBA Developmental League Aspirants Cup. 

 

By dispatching separate foes, NLEX improved to 9-1, best in the league, while Blackwater tied for second place with the Big Chill Superchargers at 5-2. 

 

In the first game, Blackwater Sports exploded right out of the gates with a 24-10 first quarter, versus the Cafe France Bakers, and then held their foes at arm's length the rest of the way, en route to an 81-60 win. 

The Bakers committed 30 turnovers, which Blackwater converted into 19 turnover points. Blackwater was similarly sloppy with the ball, coughing it up 26 times, but Cafe France couldn't take advantage, finishing with 0 points off turnovers. 

 

Jeric Fortuna led Blackwater with 13 points, three rebounds and four assists. Kevin Ferrer poured in 11, while Gio Ciriacruz contributed 10. 

 

Roger Pogoy was the sole Baker to finish with double-digit points, 11, in addition to 11 rebounds. Gryann Mendoza chimed in with seven, while four other players tallied six apiece.

 

Blackwater finished by shooting 51.8 percent from the field, while holding Cafe France to a mere 27.3 percent. 

 

Things were a bit tighter in the second game, but the reigning champions NLEX Road Warriors still emerged triumphant, 89-76, versus the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems. 
 

 

Up by just three at the end of the first quarter, the Road Warriors exploded for an 11-3 run to take their first double-digit lead, 34-23, early in the second. The Gems did their best to hack into the deficit though, getting it down to four before Eric Camson pushed it back to six entering the break, 48-42. 

 

Cebuana Lhuillier continued to hang around, making it a one-point game at the dawn of the payoff period, on a triple by Jopher Custodio, 66-65, but NLEX struck back with seven straight to boost it back to 73-65, 8:22 to play. Mapua Cardinal Gab Banal nailed twin scores to get his side back within four, 77-73, but NLEX again doused water on the Gems' comeback try, this time with eight unanswered to put the game away. 

 

RR Garcia led the Road Warriors with 15 big points on 7-of-12 shooting. Garvo Lanete added 14 markers, while big men Ian Sangalang, Greg Slaughter and Jake Pascual combined for 26 points and 36 rebounds. 

 

Cebuana Lhiillier drew 17 points and 10 rebounds from Raymond Aguilar, while Jopher Custodio poured in 13 markers, nine coming from outside the arc. Another big man, June Dizon, contributed 12 points and 15 boards. 

 

The Gems stayed in the game by converting 11-of-33 triples, while NLEX could only hit 4-of-15. 

 

The Bakers are now in a tie with the Cagayan Valley Rising Sun at 4-3, while Cebuana Lhuillier is 3-4 in the standings. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Game one -

Blackwater 81 — Fortuna 1, Ferrer 11, G. Ciriacruz 10, Chua 8, Celiz 8, Bagatsing 6, Mangahas 5, I. Ciriacruz 4, Abdul 4, Llagas 4, Vigil 3, Lo 2, Pe 2, Mazo 0

Cafe France 61 –Pogoy 11, Mendoza 7, Alas 6, Lopez 6, Knuttel 6, Magat 6, Padilla 5, Jamon 4, Parala 4, Magbitang 3, Dela Cruz 2, Batino 0, Antipuesto 0

Quarter scoring: 24-10, 46-21, 65-40, 81-60

Game two -

NLEX 89 — Garcia 15, Lanete 14, Sangalang 10, Slaughter 9, J. Pascual 7, Long 7, Salva 6, Alas 6, R. Pascual 5, Camson 5, Amer 3, Ganuelas 2, Hermida 0

Cebuana Lhuillier 76 — Aguilar 17, Custodio 13, Dizon 12, Sanga 8, Zamar 7, Banal 6, Buensuceso 5, Mangahas 3, Bautista 3, Sarangay 2, Rowe 0, Tagarda 0, Suguitan 0, Mabayo 0

Quarter scoring: 23-20, 48-42, 66-62, 89-76