Tile Masters zap Hawkeyes, force sudden death
MANILA, Philippines - Racal thrived on both ends of the court with tough defense and impeccable shooting to upend Cignal, 100-90, and force a sudden death for the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup crown at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan last night.
The Tile Masters produced an impressive 63 shooting clip from an 18 percent showing in their 85-93 setback in Game One, racing to an early 24-15 lead then thwarting the Hawkeyes’ third quarter charge to keep their title drive going.
Game Three is set Thursday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
“We started well and the boys played good defense. It set the tone in the game,” said Racal coach Jerry Codiñera.
Sustaining their first quarter run, the Tile Masters pulled away by as many as 19 points, 57-38, late in the second.
But the Hawkeyes came out of the break an organized lot with Jason Perkins scoring nine unanswered points to rally Cignal to 62-67 with 4:02 remaining in the third.
Rey Nambatac, however, stepped up and unloaded 10 points in the fourth while the rest shackled Cignal’s top gunners as Racal built another big cushion at 99-83 to secure the win and send the best-of-three series to a winner-take-all affair.
The Hawkeyes, who dominated the Tile Masters in the series’ opener, failed to wrap it all up with chief patron Manny Pangilinan watching from the sidelines.
“Malas nga yata, eh (I guess being here turned out as unlucky),” said Pangilinan in jest.
“Well, talagang ganoon ang basketball. (That’s basketball). We made an effort to go because if they won, it could have been a great day for them. You don’t win every game. That’s how it is,” he added.
Pangilinan, however, hopes the Hawkeyes will rebound strong in sudden death.
“They have no choice but to win the third game. It’s a do-or-die. It’s either you win or you lose. If you lose, that’s it. No more chances,” said Pangilinan.
Nambatac paced the Tile Masters with 24 points, Jackson Corpuz turned in 20 markers and 11 boards while Kent Salado bucked a mild sprain to fire 15 points.
Robert Bolick earlier earned the MVP honors and led Cignal with 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists but failed to cap the night with a title win.
He averaged 12.2 points on 49.5 percent shooting, 3.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.2 steals to bag the coveted individual crown.
Pamboy Raymundo came away with 17 points, Perkins chalked up 13 markers while Davon Potts added 11 points for the Hawkeyes.
The scores:
Racal 100 – Nambatac 24, Corpuz 20, Salado 15, Gabayni 9, Torres 8, Capacio 5, Dagangon 5, Flores 4, Onwubere 4, Cabrera 3, Mangahas 3, Gabawan 0, Gumaru 0, Terso 0.
Cignal 90 – Bolick 18, Raymundo 17, Perkins 13, Potts 11, Bringas 8, Mocon 7, Villarias 7, Adamos 3, Arboleda 3, Oftana 3, Arong 0, Batino 0, Cahilig 0.
Quarterscors: 26-22, 57-42, 81-71, 100-90.