MANILA, Philippines - Blackwater Sports rained treys on Jumbo Plastic, including one in the stretch that sealed a 72-69 victory yesterday for the solo lead in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Blue Eagle gym yesterday.
James and Allan Mangahas, Kevin Ferrer and Gio Ciriacruz combined for six triples, the last courtesy of Ciriacruz in the final two minutes as the Elite held off the rallying Giants to stretch their win run to four and fifth overall against a lone loss.
“Things are looking good. We like our chances. It may get a lot better if we could win another win on Tuesday against Big Chill,†said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac.
Defending champion NLEX continued its rebound from a 0-2 start by winning its third straight, beating Café France, 85-62, in the second game.
The Road Warriors actually struggled in the early going, trailing 27-33 at the turn but outscored the Bakers in the third, 33-18, to win pulling away.
Nico Salva and Garvo Lanete found their offensive rhythm in the third and finished with 16 and 12 points, respectively, behind Borgie Hermida’s topscoring 17 markers.
“We were kind of rattled in the first half because the players are so determined to win and get back at Café because they are the only team who beat us last conference. But in doing so, they put so much pressure on themselves and it backfired on us. So at halftime I told them to relax and play our usual game. I’m glad they responded,†said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez.