Freego frustrates C. Lhuillier, wrests lead

MANILA, Philippines - Freego Jeans blew a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter but shut down Cebuana Lhuillier in the closing minutes to hack out a 71-66 victory yesterday and wrest the solo lead in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Jose Rizal University gym.

The Jeans Makers trailed at 62-64 with 2:34 left in the contest after squandering a 60-48 bulge midway in the fourth but clamped down on defense to force the Gems to four successive turnovers to regain the lead and clinch the win, their fourth straight for the solo lead.

“This is a very tough game but a good test for us,” said Freego Jeans coach Leo Austria.

Eric Camson scored 14 points while Nigerian Lionel Manyara shot 12 points, including four straight that shoved the Jeans Makers back to the lead at 66-64.

It was a frustrating loss for the Gems, who outscored the Jeans Makers, 16-2, in a four-minute stretch to pull ahead, 64-62.

Vic Manuel led all scorers with 21 points and Terrence Romeo added 13 for Cebuana, which dropped to 3-1.

Earlier, Boracay Rum used one big scoring spurt in the opening quarter and went on to dominate Cobra Energy Drink, 70-56, and join RnW Pacific Pipes in sixth place.

Erwin Cornejo fired 12 of his 16 points in the first half as the Waves seized control at 23-9 and never looked back to even their card at 2-2.

“We stuck to our game plan of good ball rotation,” said Boracay Rum assistant coach Ernesto Ballesteros, who called the shots in the absence of head coach Lawrence Tiongson, who is currently abroad on a business trip.

Cobra actually battled back from a 21-point second quarter deficit to close within eight late in the third.

But the Ironmen, led by Josan Nimes’ 11 points, failed to sustain their charge in the absence of a go-to guy and fell to their third straight defeat.

Boracay Rum, behind Stephen Siruma and Glenn Khobuntin, surged to a 19-6 advantage early and took a 35-22 lead at the half.