Bakers hold sway, blast Tanduay 5

MANILA, Philippines - Cafe France toughened up in the fourth quarter as it clobbered Tanduay, 83-67, and gained an early share of the lead in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig last night.

Paul Desiderio and Congolese big man Rod Ebondo starred in a decisive 14-2 run as the Bakers pulled away at 83-65 with 1:17 left in the contest en route to the 16-point victory that tied them with the opening day winner AMA Online Titans.

Cafe France actually led by as many 26 points, 61-35, late in the third period but Tanduay rallied to within, 63-69, before Desiderio and Ebondo took over in the stretch to help steer the Bakers to victory.

New recruits Michael Calisaan, who fired 13 points in that big Café France surge in the third, and Desiderio finished with 23 and 16 points, respectively, while Centro Escolar University mainstay Ebondo added 15 markers.

“My recruits stepped up so that’s the positive thing about it. Hopefully everybody starts jelling. I think it will be a good season for us if the boys will continue to play this way,” said Cafe France coach Egay Macaraya. 

Bong Quinto paced the Rhum Masters with 12 points while Mark Cruz, Raffy Reyes and Paul Sanga chipped in 11 markers apiece.

Earlier, Racal routed Blustar Detergent with a whopping 51-point romp, 109-58.

The Tile Masters, with Rey Nambatac on the firing end, imposed their will early, 25-8, and went on to dominate the hapless Dragons, posting leads of as many as 53, on a Sidney Onwubere triple late in the game.

Nambatac finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Donald Gumaru added 14 markers on a 4-of-5 clip from threes, while Onwubere got a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards.