Bakers, Gems demolish rivals in D-L opener

MANILA, Philippines -  Routs marked the opener of the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup yesterday as Café France rode on a big first quarter run to blast newcomer MP Hotel, 86-59, and Cebuana Lhuillier bounced back from a shaky start to trounce Racal Motors, 89-70, at the Ynares Arena in Pasig City.

The Bakers scored almost at will to roll past the MP Hotel Warriors, pouring in 31 points while holding their rivals to just nine in the first 10 minutes of play. It was cruise control for Café France, which led by as many as 28 points late in the second period.

“We just had a good start and MP Hotel struggled while trying to feel its way around in the league,” said Café France coach Egay Macaraya, who drew 11 points apiece from Fil-Am Maverick Ahanmisi and Alvin Abundo and 10 markers apiece from Jam Cortes and Rod Ebondo. 

Ahanmisi, who played college ball for Minnesota University in the US NCAA Division 1, made his presence felt early. He went three-for-three, including two treys, from the field and finished 10 points in the first quarter.

Jamabon Bulac came off the bench and topscored with nine points for MP Hotel, which made just 22 shots out of 67 tries. 

The Gems, on the other hand, used a 21-7 run halfway through the second quarter to seize control after a poor start. Paul Zamar and Allan Mangahas hit back-to-back threes to fuel Cebuana’s fightback from 23-26 down to a 44-33 advantage at halftime. They never trailed after that.

“We’re just trying to improve from our performance last season. We hope to improve every practice, every possession, every game,” said Cebuana coach Boysie Zamar.