PBA-DL: Forrester carries Cagayan Valley past Blackwater Sports in game one of their semis series

The Cagayan Valley Rising Suns made a promise to themselves that they would no longer be cellar-dwellers in the PBA Developmental League. One conference after a winless debut, they are now one win away from making it to the 2012-13 Aspirant's Cup Finals. The Rising Suns relied on the extended brilliance of James Forrester, who tallied 25 points. And when Forrester began to cool off in the fourth quarter, Eliud Poligrates and Raymund Almazan took up the scoring role, en route to a 91-76 victory over Blackwater Sports, Tuesday at the Ynares Sports Arena "Minsan-minsan lang dumating ang mga ganitong pagkakataon kaya dapat talaga ibigay na nila lahat," said Cagayan head coach Alvin Pua. "Buti maganda ang laro ni Forrester ngayon kasi sa past games namin inconsistent siya." Forrester, who played last season with the Arellano Chiefs in the NCAA, scored five points in the first, exploded for 13 in the second, and added seven in the third, before fizzling out in the fourth quarter. Almazan added 18 points, 17 rebounds, and two blocks, while Poligrates chipped in 16 points, most of which he scored in the second half. [Related: Blackwater tangles with Cagayan Valley in 2 versus 3 semis match-up] Blackwater's Gio Ciriacruz started the game with a jumper but it was quickly followed by back-to-back three's from James Forrester and Ping Exciminiano to build a 6-2 lead for Cagayan Valley. The Rising Suns were unable to stretch their lead however, as they fell into early foul trouble, resulting to multiple trips to the free throw line for Blackwater. Jeric Fortuna regained the lead for Blackwater on a floater at the 3:57 mark of the first. His team then went on to a 9-4 run thanks to long shots from bigs Justin Chua and Pari Llagas. The Rising Suns on the other hand failed to keep up with the pace as they either turned the ball over or missed three-point shots on most of their possessions. The second quarter started with Cagayan Valley knowing they needed to make shots from the inside. A couple of and-one plays by Forrester and Chris Canta then knotted the score at 22. Blackwater countered with a 5-0 burst, but Cagayan Valley unleashed a 10-0 run in reply, capped by a Forrester three and an Almazan and-1 for a 32-27 lead with less than four minutes remaining in the first half. Blackwater lost their rhythm late in the first half as they suffered a spate of turnovers to allow the Rising Suns to erect a 40-29 lead. But the overall second seed in this conference bounced back by doubling up on their efforts on defense, to slice the Cagayan Valley to six, 47-41, heading into the break. All in all, Cagayan Valley outscored Blackwater Sports 31-21 in the second quarter and never looked back. Forrester led all scorers at the half with 18 markers. He shot 67 percent from the field and made all of his five free throws. His explosion compensated for the lack of production from Eliud Poligrates and Ping Exciminiano who only combined for five points. The Rising Suns continued to scorch the basket in the third quarter. They built a 65-51 lead after Poligrates banked in a reverse lay-up. Forrester added a highlight to his career game by completing a two-handed 360 slam dunk with less than two minutes remaining in the third. Blackwater's Allan Mangahas scored on a lay-up with only a few seconds remaining in the third which ended with a 72-60 tally in favor of Cagayan Valley. Poligrates who came alive by scoring seven points in the third quarter, continued his rampage early in the fourth, pumping in seven more as the Rising Suns built a 83-66 lead. Blackwater's Kevin Ferrer tried to keep his team in the game with eight straight points in the middle of the final period, but they could not stop Raymund Almazan from scoring down low. Pua credited their defense on Jeric Fortuna as the key ingredient to their victory. "Sa point guard kasi talaga umiikot yung laro nila kaya sobrang taas ng respeto namin kay Fortuna. Nung napigilan namin siya, nahirapan na silang bumawi," he said. Fortuna only scored five points in the game in 29 minutes. Game two of the best of three series will be played on Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig. - AMD, GMA News The scores: Cagayan Valley: Forrester 25, Almazan 18, Poligrates 16, Exciminiano 9, Lao 8, Webb 4, Melano 4, Bringas 4, Canta 3, Pasculado 0, Celada 0 Blackwater Sports: Ferrer 14, Mangahas 12, Chua 11, Adbul 9, Celiz 7, Vigil 5, Fortuna 5, Mazo 4, Pe 3, Llagas 3, G. Ciriacruz 3, I. Ciriacruz  0 Quarter scoring: 16-20, 47-41, 72-60, 91-76