A reloaded Racal Tile Masters took advantage of its experience and dealt the young Blustar Detergent Dragons a 51-point routing, 109-58, Monday in the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Rey Nambatac led all scorers with 16 points going 9-of-9 from the stripe. Donald Gumaru added for 14 markers on a 4-of-5 shooting clip from threes, while Sidney Onwubere got a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards.
“Lahat excited mag-perform. Siyempre D-League, premium league yan,” first-year Racal head coach Jerry Codinera said.
The fifth-year Letran Knight got himself going early and fired six of his 16 points in the first quarter as the Tile Masters established an early 25-8 advantage. He also had nine rebounds and three assists as the team took turns on eviscerating the young Dragons crew.
Racal extended its edge to as high as 53, 109-56, after Onwubere nailed a trey late in the game.
Despite the Tile Masters’ dominant win, Codinera said that he’s still looking for the right mix with the roster he has on hand.
“Hindi pa evident yung chemistry ng team. Hinahanap pa namin yung right combination,” he said.
Lervin Flores also tallied 11 markers and 12 rebounds, Roider Cabrera had 11, and the returning Allan Mangahas got 10 points and four assists for Racal.
Racal shot an outsanding 45 percent from the field but a dismal 15-of-29 from the foul stripe. Blustar, on the other hand, had a miserable 2017 debut, shooting just a horrid 29 percent clip.
Heng Yee Tong paced Blustar with 16 points, while Mak Long Seng got 11 markers and 13 rebounds in the loss.
Racal (1-0) will next face the AMA Online Education Titans on Tuesday, January 31 at 5:00pm. Blustar (0-1) will step on the hard court again tomorrow, facing the JRU Heavy Bombers at 3:00pm. Both games will still be played at the Ynares Sports Arena.
The Scores:
Racal (109) – Nambatac 16, Gumaru 14, Onwubere 12, Cabrera 11, Flores 11, Mangahas 10, Torres 9, Corpuz 7, Salado 6, Gabayni 4, Gabawan 4, Singontiko 3, Terso 2, Apreku 0.
Blustar (58) – Heng 16, Mak 11, Liaw 9, Kwaan 7, Yong 6, Choong 4, Shadzwan 2, Gan 2, Ang 1, Zhi 0, Wong 0, Liew 0.
Quarterscores: 25-8, 50-20, 83-40, 109-58.
