Wizards smother Elite, secure 2nd quarterfinal berth

Manila, Philippines - PC Gilmore clinched the second outright quarterfinal berth in Group A as it whipped an erratic Blackwater Perfume side, 92-75, in the classification round of the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the San Andres gym in Manila last night.

The Wizards broke away from a tight first half contest as they outscored the Elite, 29-16, in the third behind an impressive 56 percent shooting in the period.

Carlo Lastimosa fired 22 points on 10 of 15 shooting and Allan Mangahas added 20 points for the top computer shop, which closed out its campaign with a 4-2 record to join Group A leader NLEX (4-1) in the second round of the knockout playoffs.

“This is a big achievement for me and the team. Nobody expected us to be here but we work our way the hard way,” said PC Gilmore coach Richard del Rosario.

Blackwater, led by Ian Mazo’s 25 points and Andrian Celeda’s 14 points, finished the classification round with 3-3 mark.

Earlier, the FCA Cultivators disposed of the winless Café France side, 89-80, to firm up their bid for an outright quarterfinal berth.

Mark Canlas scored 16 points through three quarters while Sean Co added 14 points as the Cultivators used a 17-3 run in the first quarter to seize control en route to the victory.

The win forced a four-way tie for the lead in Group B as FCA caught up with Cobra Energy Drink, Cebuana Lhuillier and Max! Bond Super Glue in the race for the two outright seats in the next round.

Allan Husted finished with 11 points, seven assists and three steals for the Cultivators, who will take on the Cobra five on Tuesday.

“I’m happy with how we played but we had mental lapses in the second half,” said FCA coach Arsenio Dysangco. “Generally, I’m pleased with how we responded in the last two minutes.”

FCA also bucked the ejected of Alfred Gerilla, who was assessed with a flagrant foul penalty 2 after elbowing Leymund Babad in the face midway in the second quarter.

Jewel Ponferida led Café France with 19 points while Ildefonso Bulangis and Grevanni Rublico added 14 and 13 points, respectively.

The Scorpions kept the game close in the second half, pulling within 77-81 on a triple by Rublico with 2:28 remaining in the contest.

But they failed to sustain their charge and took their fifth straight loss.