The Caida Tile Masters finished the elimination round of the 2016 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup tournament strong in an 89-68 whitewashing of the BDO-National University Bulldogs.
After a slow first quarter, the Tile Masters blasted a 13-6 run in the last five minutes of the second quarter. Jonathan Grey was unstoppable in the quarter, scoring 12 of the 26 second quarter points that included two triples. Caida held a 39-31 lead going into the break.
“I think we just played good in the second half. We started hitting our shots and allowed everybody to try to get confidence for the next round against AMA,” said Caida head coach Caloy Garcia.
With the Bulldogs closing in on Caida behind Alfred Aroga and Cedrick Labingisa, the Tile Masters broke lose in a 9-0 blast to close-out the quarter. Philip Paniamogan spearheaded the rally as the Caida lead extended into double-digits, 59-47, going into the final frame.
The rally continued into the fourth quarter as the rally extended to 17 points. Paniamogan contributed nine points in the rally as the once 50-47 lead turned into a 64-50 lead. The lead continued to balloon to 24 points, 89-65, with Grey and Roider Cabrera gained the hot hand from downtown.
“We’re not even looking at the standings right now,” Garcia said. “We’re just worried about AMA right now.”
Former CSB stalwart Jonathan Grey led all scorers with 20 points on an excellent 8/9 shooting. Three other Tile Masters scored in double-figures with Cabrera and Paniamogan scoring 12 while Billy Ray Robles had 11 points.
Only Alfred Aroga scored in double-figures with 19 points. He was also able to grab 11 boards.
The Caida Tile Masters (7-1) will hold a twice-to-beat advantage against the AMA Online Education Titans on Tuesday, March 15 at 2:00pm. On the other hand, the BDO-NU Bulldogs (2-6) face the Phoenix Petroleum-FEU Accelerators, who will have a twice-to-beat advantage, on the same day at 4:00pm.
The Scores:
Caida Tiles (89) – Grey 20, Cabrera 12, Paniamogan 12, Robles 11, Perkins 8, Corpuz 6, Parala 5, Jalalon 4, Lozada 3, Gabawan 2, Nambatac 2, Ruaya 2, Terso 2.
BDO-NU (68) – Aroga 19, Alejandro 9, Javelona 9, Salem 8, Salim 7, Labing-isa 6, Diputado 5, Tansingco 3, Perez 2, Rono 0, Yu 0.
Quarterscores: 13-14, 39-31, 59-47, 89-68.
