Fil-Tongan caps Gems rally vs Bakers

MANILA, Philippines - Fil-Tongan Mo Tautuaa split his charities in the last 2.7 seconds as Cebuana Lhuillier capped its comeback from 21 points down to edge Café France, 86-85, in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the JCSGO gym in Cubao, QC yesterday.

Tautuaa finished with a game-high 34 points and completed a double-double with 13 rebounds but it was his free throw that mattered most for the Gems, who trailed by as many as 21 points in the third and by 76-84 in the last 2:46.

“My free throws got different moods. It’s on and off. But one is enough to win the game for us,” said Tautuaa, who earlier intercepted a Café France inbound pass with the score tied at 85. “This is what I flew thousands of miles away and I’m not gonna let any pressure to get into me.”

Cebuana’s Simon Enciso’s three-pointer with 16.8 seconds left tied the count at 85 before Cafe France threw away a crucial possession with a bad inbound pass that was intercepted by Tautuaa.  

It was a tough loss for the Bakers, who appeared headed for a runaway win after Yutien Andrada hit back-to-back baskets for a 73-52 bulge late in the third.

Maverick Ahanmisi tallied 19 points for the Café France, which also missed three of four free throws in the closing minutes.

Earlier, Tanduay Light imposed its will early and went on to blast Jumbo Plastic, 79-61, to join opening day winners Keramix and AMA University.

Roi Sumang scored 17 points and had eight assists while providing stellar court leadership for the Rhum Masters who dominated the Giants with excellent shooting and aggressive defense.

Aljon Mariano shot 16 points on 3 of 4 shooting from three-point range and grabbed nine rebounds. 

Tanduay Light raced to a 21-9 lead in the first quarter as the Giants struggled with their offense. Jumbo Plastic, which lost to Cebuana Lhuillier in the quarterfinals in the last Aspirants’ Cup, made just  4 of 21 attempts in the first quarter and shot  31 percent (22 of 71)  for the game.

The Rhum Masters slowed down in the second period but kept an eight-point lead at the turn before ripping the game at the resumption as Jaypee Belencion hit three of four consecutive triples that gave Tanduay a comfortable 55-32 cushion late in the period. Belencion, who was on a shooting slump last conference, scored 14 points off the bench incuding 4 of 9 shooting from behind the arc.