Pirates, Gems force ‘rubber’

MANILA, Philippines - Newcomer Bread Story-Lyceum dominated a visibly out of sync Café France side and came away with a 79-72 victory while Cebuana Lhuillier outsteadied Jumbo Plastic in the fourth quarter for a 63-53 decision in  their PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup quarterfinals Thursdasy at the Ynares Arena in Pasig.

The twin victories allowed the Pirates and the Gems to force a rubber-match on Monday for the two semifinal berths.

The Pirates outscored the Bakers, 28-13, in the second quarter to set the tone for the stunning turnaround then held off a mighty charge by the Bakers in the third with a strong finishing kick.

The Gems also needed a strong finish to put away the Giants, who tied the game at 46-46 on a bank shot by MacLean Sabellina early in the fourth.

“We remembered the date (Nov. 3, 2014). They [Giants] beat us by big margin. Before game time I challenged the guys to step up and play team basketball. I thought they responded well,” said Cebuana coach Boycie Zamar.

Paul Zamar scored 18 points including two clutch 3-point shots in the fourth quarter to keep the rallying Giants at bay.

Café France rallied from a 24-point deficit and pulled within 68-70 on Jelo  Alolino’s basket in the closing minutes.

But the Pirates hung on.  Louie Vigil scored on a reverse shot –and-1 in the ensuing play and Giovanni Jalalon came up with a steal and a basket that practically sealed the win for the Pirates.

Jackson Corpuz and Jalalon shared scoring honors with 21 points apiece for the Pirates, who avenged their 74-88 defeat to the Bakers in the elimination and gave themselves a fair chance of crashing into the semifinals of the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup.

“No one expected us to be here. I guess that was a motivation to the guys. I also thought the team’s desire to avenge our loss in the elims fired us up,” said Bread Story-Lyceum coach Bonnie Tan.

Cameroonian Aziz Mbomiko, Jalalon and Corpuz picked up their offensive rhythm in the second quarter and the Pirates  dictated the pace a fluid up tempo game.  Bread Story-Lyceum shot 63 percent from the field (10 of 16) in the second quarter and led 46-31 at halftime.

The Pirates stretched the margin to 55-31 by scoring the first nine points of the third.

“Binigyan kami ng isa so I guess we have a 50-50 chance on Monday. But we have to stay focused because Café France knows how to bounce back,” Tan said.

Café France’s bench outscored their counterpart, 52-29, but its woeful field goal shooting took its toll on the third seed, who had hope to wrap up their rematch against the Pirates as quick as possible.  The Bakers made just 24 of 77 attempts (31 percent).

Maverick Ahanmisi scored 14 points while Joseph Sedurifa and Alolino contributed 12 and 10 apiece off the bench for the Bakers, who went scoreless in the last 1:56 minutes of the fourth.