MANILA, Philippines — No. 4 Che’Lu Bar and Grill-San Sebastian unleashed a strong finishing kick as it rallied past fifth-ranked Gamboa Coffee Mix-St. Clare, 80-72, to advance to the semifinals of the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Pasig City Sports Center yesterday.
But while the Revellers cashed in on their quarterfinals incentive to join Akari-Adamson and Marinerong Pilipino in the Final Four, third seed Centro Escolar U suffered a stinging 95-104 setback to Zark’s Burgers-Lyceum in their side of the quarters duel.
They dispute the last semis seat in a rubber match tomorrow.
CJ Perez poured 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter as No. 6 Zark’s Burgers-Lyceum blew an 18-point lead but recovered in the fourth to hack out the nine-point victory.
The Jawbreakers used an 11-2 binge in the fourth to turn an 88-90 deficit into a 99-92 lead then fended off the Scorpions’ last-ditch rally to clinch the win.
Earlier, RK Ilagan drained back-to-back treys as the Revellers surged ahead for the first time at 64-60, with 5:37 left in the game.
New acquisitions Jeff Viernes, Jay-R Taganas and Cedrick Ablaza then took charge the rest of the way as Che’Lu Bar and Grill-SSC completed the come-from-behind win for a clash with top seed Akari-Adamson.
“Our three new players have been with us for just two practices but they carried us at endgame,” said Revellers coach Stevenson Tiu.