Sudden death Gems dim Rising Suns; Bombers rip S’chargers

Games tomorrow (Ynares Sports Arena)
2 p.m. – JRU vs Big Chill
4 p.m. – Cebuana Lhuillier vs Cagayan Valley

MANILA, Philippines - Cebuana Lhuillier and Jose Rizal University hacked out a pair of thrilling victories over Cagayan Valley and Big Chill, respectively, to force the rubber matches for the last two semifinal berths in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.   

Paul Zamar scored on a runner with 20 seconds remaining as the Gems snatched an 84-83 victory over the Rising Suns while the Heavy Bombers held off the rallying Big Chill Superchargers and eked out a 63-61 victory in the other quarterfinal match.

With the count tied at 82, Zamar, who finished with 14 points and four assists, received the ball on top of the key then drove past Adrian Celada and James Forester before knocking in the winning basket.

The Rising Suns had a chance to force overtime but Forester, fouled by JR Buensuceso with 9.4 seconds left in the contest, cracked under pressure and muffed the rear end of his charities.

Later in the day, Jeckster Apinan and Michael Mabulac hit a free throw each in the final 26 seconds as the Bombers frustrated the Superchargers, who pulled abreast at 61 on a layup by John Brondial with 62 second left in the contest.

“I thought we played good defense in the closing seconds. The guys were really determined to win,” said JRU coach Vergel Meneses.

The Bombers and the Superchargers dispute the third semis berth at 2 p.m. tomorrow while the Gems and the Rising Suns clash for the last Final Four slot at 4 p.m. at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.    

NLEX and Blackwater Sports took the first two outright semis seats by finishing on top in the elims.

Khazim Mirza scored 12 points, Dexter Maiquez had 11 and Nard Pinto added 10 for the Heavy Bombers, who bucked a poor field goal shooting by going 18 of 21 from the line.

But Big Chill also struggled offensively with Arvie Bringas turning in the lone double digit output with 10 points.

“We had a tough time in the first half because Cagayan’s bigs are dominating the game,” said Cebuana Lhuillier coach Beaujing Acot, referring to Cagayan’s Raymund Almazan and Mark Bringas. “But I thought we addressed the problem during the break. Again my reserves bailed us out.” 

The Gems trailed by as many 13 points in the first half but rallied strong in the third behind their reserves, who carried the fight in the fourth quarter. Cebuana’s bench outscored Cagayans’, 69-29.