Warriors, Elite off to fiery start

MANILA, Philippines - Defending champion NLEX used a strong second half run to cool off Big Chill, 80-70, while Blackwater Sports went on a scoring spree in the second quarter to dump Pacific Pipes, 88-67, at the start of the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at The Arena in San Juan yesterday. 

Calvin Abueva came off the bench and scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter while Kirk Long hit a triple in the last 3:44 as the Road Warriors rallied from 10 points down to frustrate the Super Chargers.

“We started flat and our energy is down. But our defense stepped up late in the third and we made some big shots down the stretch,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez.

Abueva also had 18 rebounds for NLEX, which beat Big Chill off the boards, 52-45.

Chris Ellis, on the other hand, fired 16 points, including two treys, the last pulling NLEX within, 59-61, at the end of the third.

It was tough loss for the Super Chargers, who took a 68-61 lead with a 8:41 remaining but went without a field goal the rest of the way.

Ian Sanggalang scored 13 points and Clifford Hodge added 11 for NLEX, which played without starting guard RR Garcia after he was barred by his school Far Eastern University until after the UAAP season is over.

Earlier, the Elite broke away from a close 21-16 game in the first quarter by outhustling and outscoring the Steel Masters, 28-6, behind an impressive 12-of-18 shooting in the second period en route to a 49-22 lead at the turn.

They were never threatened from there with the Elite racing to a 73-38 bulge after three quarters before coasting to victory.

Gio Ciriacruz scored 16 points while Jordan Mandani, Robby Celiz and Paul Zamar backed him up with 15, 14 and 13 markers, respectively, to highlight Blackwater’s domination of Pacific Pipes.

The Steel Masters actually held their ground in the early going but lost in the face of the Elite’s surge in the second period. Pacific Pipes made just three out of their 12 shots in that stretch while turning the ball over 11 times.

The scores:

First Game

Blackwater Sports 88 – Ciriacruz 16, Mandani 15, Celiz 14, Zamar 13, Nabong 11, Ignacio 9, Pascual 6, Fortuna 2, Jeffries 2, Montemayor 0, Baustista 0, Afuang 0. 

Pacific Pipes 67 – Sanvictores 13, Rogado 11, Ilagan 11, Colina 7, Buensuceso 7, Antonio 6, Elinon 4, Teng 3, Acidre 3, Bustos 2, Pe 0, Mariano 0. 

Quarterscores: 21-16; 49-22; 73-38; 88-67

Second Game

NLEX 80 – Abueva 20, Ellis 16, Sanggalang 13, Hodge 11, Monfort 7, Lanete 4, Long 3, Hermida 2, Dehesa 2, Marcelo 2, Belencion 0, Co 0.

Big Chill 70 – Jensen 17, Tan 10, Ponferrada 9, Montilla 7, Mallari 7, Viernes 6, Villahermosa 5, Santos 4, Collado 2, Reyes 2, Cortes 1, Custodio 0.

Quarterscores: 21-23; 37-39; 59-61; 80-70