Elite rip Gems, remain in hunt

MANILA, Philippines - Reil Cervantes dished out a double-double job as Blackwater Sports fended off Cebuana Lhuillier, 85-78, to remain in the hunt for an outright semifinal berth in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup yesterday.

Cervantes powered his way to 23 points and hauled down 10 rebounds, his triple with 44 seconds left in the contest gave the Elite a five-point cushion after the Gems threatened to within, 78-80, on a layup by Paul Zamar.

Blackwater thus finished the elims with a 6-3 record and could advance to the semis outright should Jumbo Plastic (5-3) loses to Cafe France (3-5) at the close of the elims today.

But a Jumbo Plastic victory will clinch the outright semis berth for the Giants via the winner-over-the-other rule.

Earlier, Billy Robles scored on a putback in overtime as Hog’s Breath denied Cagayan Valley a shot at the quarterfinal slot with a 90-89 win.