JRU, Blackwater force rubbermatch in D-League semis

MANILA, Philippines -- Jose Rizal University pulled of Valentine’s Day shocker by surprising defending champion NLEX, 108-94, in Game 2 Thursday to force a sudden-death in their PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup semifinal series next week.

The other semifinal also will need a deciding Game 3 after Blackwater Sports defeated Cagayan Valley, 86-79, to even their series at one-game apiece.

John Villarias tallied 24 points while Philip Paniamogan and Dexter Maiques had 20-point apiece for the Heavy Bombers, who capitalized on a strong start and repel repeated rallies by the Road Warriors with timely 3-point shots. 

“We didn’t make any adjustments. But today the guys stepped up on defense and played aggressive. That made the big difference. Apparently, they players don’t want to say goodbye yet,” Meneses said.

With their back against the wall, the Heavy Bombers played with urgency particularly on defense, making sure there is always a defender on every shooter.

But it was JRU’s 3-point shooting that hurt the defending champion the most. The Heavy Bombers made 10 of 22 3-point attempts, knocking most of them when the Road Warriors threatened to change the complexion of the game.

The deciding Game 3 is on Tuesday at The Arena in San Juan. The winner advancing to the best of three Finals of the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup.

“I think the pressure is now on their side (NLEX). We got nothing to lose. I think my team has over achieved our expectations. Nobody had expected us to make the playoffs much more the semis. But now we have a chance to make the finals.

“We’ll just play our usual game and see how things will turn out on Tuesday,” Meneses.

The overachieving Heavy Bombers came out strong. They scored 12 of the first 13 points and never allowed the Road Warriors to gain momentum the rest of the way.

Maiquez was also a dominating in the paint, pulling down 10 rebounds as JRU won the battle of the boards, 46-37.

The Road Warriors, who trailed by as many as 16 points in the second quarter staged repeated rallies in the second half but each time they would threaten to change the complexion of the game, the Heavy Bombers would came up with huge 3-point shots to keep the defending champions at bay.

Villarias and Paniamogan had 4 3-pointers each while the team was 10 of 22 for the game.

Nard Pinto scored 16 and Khazim Mirza contributed 10 for the Heavy Bombers, who moved the ball well to create a lot of open shots. JRU had a 20-10 advantage on assists.

Greg Slaughter and Kevin Alas each scored 15 points for the Road Warriors, who committed a lot of defensive lapses. NLEX also shot poor, hitting just 47 percent from the field (31-of 66).

Ian Sanggalang finished with 13 points, RR Garcia had 12 and Kirk Long added 11 for the defending champions, who are aiming for a fourth straight title.

But while the Heavy Bombers had a surprising easy time against the Road Warriors, Blackwater Sports had to grind it our down the stretch to survive repeated comebacks by Cagayan Valley.

Justine Chua scored 16 points to show the way for the Elite. Robby Celiz tallied 12 while holding James Forrester to seven points on 3 of 5 shooting.

“I thought today we played good defense. The last timer out we allowed Cagayan to do their thing so my challenge to the players to bounce back. I’m pleased they responded well,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac.

Eliud Poligrates scored 23 points and Ping Eximiniano added 15 for the Rising Suns who committed 23 turnovers that netted the Elite 16 points.

The scores:

First Game

JRU 108 – Vilklarias 24, Paniamogan 20, Maiquez 20, Pinto 16, Mirza 10, Apinan 7, Mabulac 6, Lopez 2, Del Rio 2, Ighalo 1, Almario 0.

NLEX 94 – Slaughter 15, Alas 15, Sanggalang 13, Garcia 12, Long 11, Sumalinog 7, Camson 5, Lanete 5, Salva 4, Pascual 4, Amer 3, Hermida 0.

Quarters: 28-17; 48-39; 76-68; 108-94

Second Game

Blacwater Sports 86 – Chua 16, Celiz 12, abdul 10, Ferrer 10, MaNGAHS 9, Llagas 9, Bagatsing 7, Vigil 5, Fortuna 4, Ciriacruz I. 4, Ciriuacruz G. 0.

Cagayan Valley 79 – Poligrates 23, Exciminiano 15, Lao 11, Celeda 9, Forrester 7, Bringas 6, Almazan 4, Pasculado 2, Webb 2, Canta 0, Villanil 0, Melano 0.

Quarters: 22-19; 44-40; 67-60; 86-79