Top-seeded Cafe France-CEU torched the Wangs Basketball Couriers with an impressive offensive display to book a win Thursday at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig City.
The unstoppable Bakers opened the game with a 19-0 blitz and never looked back to advance to the semi-finals of the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup.
The Bakers were relentless in the game, not minding a twice-to-beat edge as they wanted to get more time off the court before the semi-finals.
Cafe France had a 52-34 rebounding edge, and dished out 21 assists compared to only 10 for Wangs. Cafe France also scored 28 points off 24 Wangs turnovers.
“I guess ang game plan namin, kailangan namin talaga pukpukin para makapagpahinga because I want everybody healthy,” Bakers head coach Egay Macaraya said.
“My first group, they tried to limit (Wangs in) the first quarter. They want to win. They are going to our first goal which is the semis. (Now) we focus on our next two games to achieve our next goal of coming to the championship.”
Samboy De Leon scored a game-high 15 points including 3-for-6 from three-point range, leading four players in double-digits for the Bakers. Carl Cruz added 13 points and eight rebounds.
A triple by Aaron Jeruta gave the Bakers their biggest advantage at 85-58 halfway in the fourth, before the Couriers closed the game on a 14-5 run to salvage some measure of respect.
Mark Romeo had 12 points to lead the Couriers while Gwyne Capacio added 10 markers.
The Scores:
Cafe France-CEU (90) – De Leon 15, Cruz 13, Abundo 11, Jeruta 10, Zamar 8, Villahermosa 8, Celso 8, Manlangit 6, Ebondo 6, Arim 2, Opiso 2, Guinitaran 1.
Wangs Basketball (72) – Romero 12, Capacio 10, Tayongtong 8, Munsayac 7, Bautista 7, Mangahas 6, Publico 5, Montemayor 4, Acosta 4, Tumalip 4, Cabahug 3, Ragasa 2.
Quarterscores: 29-6, 51-31, 73-51, 90-72.
