PBA-DL: Cebuana Lhuillier escape Boracay Rum as Foundation Cup kicks off

(Updated 3:14pm) In the inaugural game of the 2013 PBA-DL Foundation Cup, the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems slipped past the Boracay Rum Waves, 68-66, Tuesday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

During the 2012-13 Aspirants Cup, the Gems found themselves eliminated in the quarterfinals by the Cagayan Valley Rising Suns, while the Waves settled for winning four of their last five, after starting in a 0-5 hole.

Alvin Padilla opened the fourth quarter with his second three-pointer, keying in a 6-2 stretch for Cebuana Lhuillier. Boracay Rum couldn't get their shots to fall despite playing tight defense, until a triple by Roider Cabrera and a transition lay-up by Paolo Taha knotted the game with three and a half minutes to play, 61-61.

While Boracay Rum's offense struggled, the Gems edged forward as James Martinez hit from downtown anew, and Jesse Bustos snuck a shot in beneath the basket, 66-64.

Cabrera was fouled on a three-pointer with 45 seconds to play, but the swingman made only one from the line. The Gems got two offensive rebounds on their next possession, and Bustos was fouled on Cebuana Lhuillier's third scoring attempt. Bustos split, 67-65, leaving the door open for Boracay Rum with 12.5 seconds on the clock.

Taha drove and dished the ball to Jaymo Eguilos, but the big man couldn't find the hole despite getting two tries at the basket. Banal secured the rebound with 0.7 seconds left and was promptly fouled, but not before Alvin Padilla was whistled for a technical foul. Cabrera nailed the bonus, but Banal eked out a split, allowing Cebuana Lhuillier to escape with the win.

Alvin Padilla tallied 12 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Gems. Gerald Bautista added 10 points, while James Martinez, Gab Banal, Gian Chiu and Jesse Bustos had seven markers each.

Cebuana Lhuillier head coach Beaujing Acot gave credit to his counterpart, Boracay Rum head coach Lawrence Chongson, saying his adjustments in the first two quarters made the game difficult to for the Gems. "We were lucky, sana tuloy-tuloy na," he said.

Acot also highlighted his roster additions, saying they were important upgrades to give them a better chance at success in this conference. "Kinuha namin yung mga missing link. We got Alvin Padilla and Gerald Bautista, kasi we needed taller guards and more intensity sa defense," he explained. "We acquired Gian Chiu who knows basketball, and Lopez who, like Gab Banal, can play multiple positions."

"Ang lakas ng next two [opponents] games namin…and we didn't want to start 0-3. We needed this win so our players can trust the system and make them believe in what we're doing," Acot added.

In a fast-paced first quarter, Boracay Rum held an early 14-10 lead, thanks to three-point baskets by Jeff Viernes and Roider Cabrera.

With five minutes to play, Raymond Aguilar drained charities and JR Buensuceso added a triple for the Gems, but their offense fell to pieces the rest of the way. Save for an Alvin Padilla lay-up with 32 seconds to play, Boracay Rum got consistent stops to fuel their transition offense. The Waves finished the first quarter on a 12-3 run, giving them a 26-14 lead after the first ten minutes.

Boracay Rum posted an 11-3 margin in turnover points during the first period.

In the second quarter, the Gems' reserves authored an 11-2 run, backed by a pair of triples from Gerald Bautista, to cut their deficit to 30-27. But Boracay Rum steadied themselves before Cebuana Lhuillier could overtake them, as Cabrera and Paolo Taha connected from downtown, and an and-one by Maclean Sabellina pushed the lead back to double digits, 39-29, with under three minutes to play.

Cebuana continued to lean on outside shooting as the half wound down, as Gab Banal and Padilla's makes from deep cut the lead to six, 43-37.


In the first half, the Gems made 5-of-8 tries from downtown (52.5 percent). Boracay Rum, meanwhile, was 4-of-11 (36.4 percent) from the same area.

The Gems slowly revved to life in the third period, as a Jopher Custodio triple ignited a 10-2 run. Cebuana Lhuillier stepped up their defensive pressure, including forcing an eight-second violation, and attacked the rim for high-percentage shots. A transition lay-up by James Martinez netted them a two-point lead, 47-45.

Giveaway fouls during the last three minutes allowed the Gems to shoot comfortably from the free throw line. Lucas Tagarda gave Boracay Rum their first field goal of the quarter with two and a half minutes  to play, and he combined with Raymond Ilagan for their team's last nine points while trailing, 55-53.

The Gems were 7-of-10 (70 percent) from the free throw line in the third quarter, while Boracay Rum attempted only six shots and made two (33.3 percent).

In the end, Cebuana Lhuillier was just hot from downtown all throughout the game, making 8-of-20 from long range (40 percent). In contrast, Boracay Rum was just 5-of-16 (31.3 percent). The Gems also won the rebounding battle, 43-29, including a 15-9 margin on offensive rebounds.

Roider Cabrera led all scorers with 13 points, including a 3-of-5 mark from three-point distance. Maclean Sabelina notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards, while Raymund Ilagan added 10 points. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

CEBUANA LHUILLIER 68: Padilla 12, Bautista 10, Martinez 7, Banal 7, Chiu 7, Bustos 7, Aguilar 3, Custodio 3, Buensuceso 3, Zamar 2, Lopez 2, Leynes 2, Sarangay 1, Dizon 0

BORACAY RUM 66: Cabrera 13, Sabellina 12, Ilagan 10, Taha 9, Eguilos 8, Viernes 4, Arellano 2, Siruma 2, Acibar 2, Bandaying 2, Monteclaro 2, Tagarda 0, Rosopa 0

Quarter scoring: 16-26, 37-43, 55-53, 68-66