Black Water edges RnW; Cobra scores

MANILA, Philippines - Gio Ciriacruz made four free throws in the closing seconds as Black Water Perfume turned back RnW Pacific Pipes, 72-69, in Group A action in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

Ciriacruz finished with nine points while Joshua Saret, who once fired a record 89 points in NCAA juniors with Jose Rizal U, and Vergel Zulueta scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, for Back Water Perfume, who bounced back from their opening game loss to Pharex.

In the other game, Cobra Energy Drink overpowered Junior Powerade, 86-73, to seize the solo lead in Group B with a 2-0 slate.

The Ironmen rode on a big 25-2 run in the third quarter to turn a slim two-point lead at the break to a double-digit spread before cruising to the victory.

Paul Lee fired 22 points and finished with eight rebounds, four steals and three assists while Cocoy Hermosisima poured in 20 points as the Ironmen dealt the Tigercubs their second straight defeat.

“We got lucky in the second half after a bad first half,” said Cobra coach Lawrence Chongson.

Black Water struggled in the early going and fell behind by as many as 13 points. But they clamped down on defense and Zulueta fired the bulk of his output in the third period as Black Water Perfume took control at 54-42.