The Racal Tile Masters stay unscathed in the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup, having beaten Team Batangas, 91-78, for their third straight victory, Tuesday afternoon at JCSGO Gym in Cubao, Quezon City.
Sidney Onwubere caught fire and scattered 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals for the Tile Masters.
Kent Salado also chipped in 17 markers, six assists, and three boards, while Jackson Corpuz got seven of his 14 points in the second quarter pull-away, where Racal established a 40-26 advantage.
“Depensa yung malaking bagay para sa amin,” said coach Jerry Codinera. “We had a slow start, but we remained aggressive in the second quarter and eventually, we’re able to pull away.”
The Tile Masters unleashed a 17-0 blast in the second frame, grabbing a 40-26 lead before extending it to as high as 25, 79-54.
Batangas, though, hit back and cut the deficit to 13, 88-75 after a Wilmar Anderson fastbreak with 1:48 to play before Salado quashed that rally with an undergoal stab late.
The Tile Masters shot 45 percent from the field compared to just 37 percent for the Batanguenos. Moreover, they dominated the boards, 49-34.
Joseph Sedurifa paced Batangas (1-3) with 20 points and six rebounds, while Anderson and Dan Sara had 12 markers each.
Racal will face Wang’s Basketball next on Thursday, February 9, while Team Batangas will have Cignal-SBC next Monday, February 13. Both games are set at 3:00pm in the Ynares Arena in Pasig City.
The Scores:
Racal (91) – Onwubere 18, Salado 17, Corpuz 14, Terso 9, Nambatac 7, Cabrera 6, Mangahas 6, Torres 5, Gabayni 3, Flores 2, Gumaru 2, Apreku 1, Gabawan 1, Dagangon 0.
Batangas (78) – Sedurifa 20, Anderson 12, Sara 12, Dela Pena 10, Lascano 6, De Joya 5, Laude 5, Delfinado 3, Fortu 3, Revadavia 2, Ablaza 0, Magbuhos 0, Mendoza 0.
Quarterscores: 20-17, 43-30, 73-51, 91-78.
