Giants thwart Hapee 5’s late surge

MANILA, Philippines - Jumbo Plastic took charge in the middle quarters then weathered a late rally by Hapee to pull off a 64-61 victory while Café France bucked another late-game meltdown to repel Tanduay Light Rum, 68-62, yesterday in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the JCSGO gym in Cubao, QC.

Juami Tiongson and Glenn Khobuntin scored 14 apiece for the Giants, who hang tough down the stretch to foil the rallying Fresh Fighters and bounce back from a harrowing 61-79 loss to the Rhum Masters last week.

Down, 61-62, with nine seconds left, the Aspirants’ Cup champions actually had a chance to steal the win when Khobuntin missed on a short jumper. But Scottie Thompson, who led Hapee with 22 points, lost the leather on dribble underneath the basket, paving the way for Jaymo Equilos’ free throws on the other end that sealed the victory for the Giants.

“This is our best chance to beat Happy because most of their players are new and still trying to jell with the team. But my second unit did a good job,” said Jumbo coach Stevenson Tiu, whose wards also held Ray Ray Parks to one point.

Hapee, which beat Cagayan to cop the Aspirants’ Cup crown, has lost top gun Garvo Laneta and the core of the San Beda Red Lions, including the 6-9 Ola Adeogun, but still has Parks, Thompson and Rosario.

Earlier, Alvin Abundo hit a clutch triple as Café France survived Tanduay Light Rum to likewise even its card at 1-1.

The Bakers were clinging on to a 65-62 lead and with their shot clock down to three seconds, the 5-foot-7 Abundo took a pass from Maverick Ahanmisi beyond the three-point range and flipped a shot that hit the top off the glass before dropping in.

“Alvin saved the day for us. But it was a lucky shot,” said Café France coach Egay Macaraya of Abundo’s only field goal of the game.

It was a big bounce-back win for the Bakers, who blew a 20-point third quarter lead in their 85-86 loss to the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems last week. 

Ahanmisi scored 16 points and Michael Noble came off the bench to fire 15 makers for the Bakers, who shook off a poor start with a strong second quarter and a string of three-pointers.

Rodrigue Ebondo grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for Café France but Tanduay Light still dominated the boards, 47-45, and took a 30-14 edge on points in the paint.

Both teams shot poorly in the first quarter but Tanduay Light took more free throws to take a 13-7 lead at the end of the period.