Elite catch a chill but pull thru

ANTIPOLO, Philippines  – Blackwater nearly squandered a 19-point lead early in the fourth quarter as it held on to pound out a 64-61 victory over Big Chill and gain solo second in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Ynares Sports Center here yesterday.

Jordan Mandani coolly sank two pressure-packed charities with three seconds left in the game to hold off the Superchargers, who rallied from a 37-56 deficit to within, 61-62, 77 seconds remaining.

The win was Blackwater’s fourth against a lone loss as the Dioceldo Sy-owned squad gained solo second behind unbeaten NLEX.

“We had a good jump on them,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac. “But they had good stops, some layups and our lead whittled down to one.”

Mar Villahermosa completed a steal off Zamar, pulling Big Chill within, 61-62. But he muffed an open jumper from 12 feet after Blackwater’s Jeric Fortuna missed on a pull up jumper on the other end.

The Elite appeared headed for a rout after Paul Zamar hit a triple to start the fourth quarter, giving the team a big 56-37 lead. They still led at 60-45 midway through the period but sputtered with flubbed shots and turnovers in the closing minutes, enabling the Superchargers to charge back behind a 16-2 run, highlighted by Keith Jensen’s slam.

The Elite sank 15 of their 31 field goal attempts, including three-of-five triples in the first half to built an 11-point lead at the break, 39-28.

Blackwater held Big Chill to only nine points in the third frame, while stringing up 14 points to extend the halftime lead to 16 at 53-37.

Kelly Nabong finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Mandani added 12 for the Elite, who also had 10 points apiece from Zamar and Tata Bautista.

Jensen finished with game-high 17 points, along with seven rebounds and four assists for Big Chill, which dropped to 3-2.

Earlier, Cebuana Lhuiller got back on the winning track as the Gems demolished winless Cagayan, 82-55.

The scores:

First Game

Cebuana Lhuillier 82 – Almazan 12, Llagas 11, Manuel 11, Lozada 10, Celeda 9, Alvarez 9, Exciminiano 8, Apinan 4, Maconocido 3, Atkins 2, Austria 2, Hayes 1.

Cagayan Rising Suns 55 – Custodio 20, Macuha 10, Agas 6, Castro 5, Melano 4, Malig-on 3, Arce 3, Bagares 2, Tagarda 2, Chiu 0, Lascano 0, Aggarao 0, Galinato 0.

Quarterscores: 24-9, 43-23, 60-37, 82-55

Second Game

Blackwater Sports 64 – Nabong 12, Mandani 12, Zamar 10, Bautista 10, Ciriacruz 9, Pascual 6, Celiz 5, Fortuna 0, Ciriacruz I. 0, Camus 0.

Big Chill 61 – Jensen 17, Ponferada 10, Tan 10, Villahermosa 7, Mallari 6, Montilla 4, Santos 3, Collado 2, Reyes 2, Viernes 0, Glorioso 0,

Quarterscores:21-14, 39-28, 53-37, 64-61