Blackwater nips Cafe France; Jumbo Plastic bounces back

MANILA, Philippines -- Robby Celiz scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter to help Blackwater Sports hold off repeated rallies by Café France for an 86-80 victory on Thursday in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Ynares Arena.

The Elite led by just three points when the 6-4 reserved forward scored on a runner in the lane then knocked a 3-point shot during a 7-0 run as Blackwater stretched the lead to 78-68 and virtually secured the win with still 5:26 remaining.

Allan Mangahas, Blackwater’s new court general, tallied 14 points and had six assists that did not exactly impressed coach Leo Isaac.

“I guess I have to talk to him some more. It seems to me that he’s already contented with his game. He must realize he’s got a lot more to improve and he will improve,” Isaac said.

After a strong start, the Elite suddenly lost their energy and poise in the middle quarters and had to rely on timely baskets by new recruit Eric Suguitan to stay in control.

“We still have a lot of homework to do. Good thing Eric made some key plays when we needed a spark,” Isaac said.

Suguitan finished with 11 points, including a string of nine points to close the second quarter that gave Blackwater a 45-36 lead at halftime.

The Giants were never in trouble against the Razorbacks.

Motivated by their lopsided loss to Fruitas on opening day Tuesday, Jumbo Plastic displayed a sense of urgency and took just 10 minutes to secure their win.

The Giants shot 62 percent (10 of 16) in the first quarter and were up 26-9 by the end of the period. The Razorbacks, who made just 3 of 13 attempts in the period, never recovered.

“I thought we’re just excited during our first game. But the players have settled down and we were able to execute our plays well,” said Jumbo Plastic coach Steve Tiu.

Aljon Mariano scored 17 points and had 11 rebounds to show the way for the Giants for the second straight game. Elliot Tan scored 13 whule Marvin Hayes added 11 and six assists for Jumbo Plastic, which shot 54 percent for the game.

Only Kevin Racal managed to score in double digit for Hog’s Breath with 13.

Little-known Alvin Abundo scored 22 points and Raymund Maconocido contributed 21, but neither of the two point guards were able to save Café France from the loss.

Blackwater scored the first 16 points of the game as Café France missed its first six attempts on went on to shoot 9 of 25 in the first quarter.

But the Bakers slowly clawed their way into the game as Maconocido started hitting his shots. The former San Sebastian Stag went 5 of 6 in the opening quarter.

Two free throws and a lay-up by Mike Parala kept the café France with 64-66 early in the fourth.

After some back and forth, Celiz drilled a 3-pointer and Kevin Ferrer, who topscored for Blackwater with 21 points, scored a layup to stretch the lead to seven.

The scores:

Blackwater Sports 86 – Ferrer 21, Mangahas A. 14, Celiz 12, Suguitan 11, Llagas 8, Chua 5, Vigil 5, Austria 5, Pe 3, Ciriacruz G. 2, singh 0, Bagatsing 0, Lo 0, Mangahas J. 0.

Café France 80 – Abundo 22, Maconocido 21, Magat 10, Parala 8, Silungan 6, De Leon 4, Magbitang 3, BAtino 2, Lopez 2, Gallardo 2, Knuttel 0, Cornejo 0.

Quarters: 31-18; 45-36; 66-60; 86-80.

Second Game

Jumbo Plastic 81 – Mariano 17, Tan 13, Hayes 11, Del Rosario 8, Escueta 8, Vidal 8, Acosta 8, Daquiaog 4, Najorda 3, Gomez 1, Gil 0, Ignacio 0.

Hogs Breath 55 – Racal 13, Cayabyab 9, Roy 8, Pangilinan 7, Lima 5, Robles 4, Eman 2, Alguno 2, Malinao 2, Belorio 2, Rabalo 1, Pacquiao 0, Macasaet 0, Morillo 0.

Quarters: 26-9; 42-18; 65-31; 81-55