Mabulac rises as Suns rip Builders; MP scores

Games on Monday (Ynares Arena, Pasig City)

12 nn – Hapee vs AMA

2 p.m. – Jumbo Plastic vs Cebuana Lhuillier

4 p.m. – MJM Builders vs Tanduay Light

MANILA, Philippines - Michael Mabulac turned in a double-double effort as Cagayan Valley Rising Suns bucked the absence of top pick Moala Tautuaa to beat MJM Builders, 94-86, Thursday in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Ynares Arena in Pasig City.

Mabulac pumped in a game-high 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the assault of the Rising Suns, who shot 45 percent from the field and made 11 of 18 free throws attempts against an opponent bannered by stalwarts of UAAP finalists National U and Far Eastern.

New recruit Alex Austria also played big with 13 points and six assists while Don Trollono and Andrian Celeda added 12 points apiece to fill in for the Fil-Tongan Tautuaa, who is still committed with the Malaysia Dragons in the Asean Basketball League (ABL).

The 6-foot-7 Tautuaa will only join Cagayan  team sometime in mid-November, according to assistant coach Nonoy Bonleon.

In the other games, MP Hotel upstaged Wangs Basketball, 87-70, while Jumbo Plastic eked out a come-from-behind 79-74 victory over newcomer Bread Story.

The Rising Suns seized control in the second quarter and held the Builders in check with tireless hassle and excellent ball movement.

“Medyo maganda ang start. Sana magtuloy-tuloy,” Bonleon said.

The two teams were tied at 31-all when Mabulac, Austria and the returning Celeda keyed a 20-11 run midway in the second quarter to give the Rising Suns a 51-42 lead at the halftime.  Mabulac had eight points, Celada seven and Austria five in that spurt.

The Builders got off to a slow start, stymied by poor execution and bad passes. They were also awful from the free throw line, going 26 of 42.

Mike Tolomia rifled in 15 points while Tristan Perez and Gelo Alolino added 13 apiece for the Builders, who made the game interesting in the closing minutes.

MJM-Builders trailed by 11 points with under six minutes left but rallied behind the timely shots of Nico Javelona and Alolino to pull within 85-88 with 1:49 to play.

It never got any closer after that though.

It was an entirely different story in the second game.