Elite finish strong, blast Bakers

MANILA, Philippines - Blackwater Sports used a strong first half to dominate Café France, 96-65, to clinch a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Treston gym in Taguig City yesterday.

Clark Bautista came off the bench to fire 20 points while reserve point guard Jeric Fortuna added 12 points for the Elite, who closed out their elims stint with a 6-3 mark for fourth place.

“We played great today. The intensity was really high and it’s a good sign,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac.

The Elite set the tone for the rout by shooting 58 percent from the floor in the opening quarter. They sustained their fiery shooting in the second period as Bautista went four-for-four from the three-point range.

The Elite were just ahead by five when Bautista drilled three straight triples to highlight a 24-12 run that gave Blackwater a comfortable 53-36 at the turn.

Neil Pascual tallied 12 points with 15 rebounds and Paul Zamar contributed 11 for the Elite, who never trailed after taking a 7-2 lead in the early going. Pascual capped his sterling performance with six assists and three steals.

Euligio Lamosa scored 18 points off the bench as did Ramon Mabayo, who turned in 12 points for the Bakers, who fell to their second straight loss and wound up its elims campaign with 3-6 record.

In the other game, Cebuana Lhuillier whisked off Erase Plantcenta, 84-77, to stay in contention for the second outright semifinal berth.

Lester Alvarez hit three straight free throws to shove the Gems to an 80-77 lead with 61 seconds remaining in the contest.

“Now the pressure is on Big Chill,” said Cebuana Lhuillier coach Beaujing Acot, whose team finished the elims with a 7-2 mark.

Big Chill is just behind at 6-2 and needs a win against RnW Pacific Pipes tomorrow to clinch the second outright semis seat due to a winner-over-the-other rule against Cebuana.http://beta.philstar.com/new/cms/articleedit.aspx?articleid=809830

Defending champion NLEX took the first outright Final Four slot with an 8-0 card.