JK Casino waxed hot late, and carried the Café France Bakers to an 86-70 victory, eliminating the AMA Online Education Titans from the Final Four race, Thursday, in the 2016 PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
His back-to-back threes ignited a 17-2 tear to turn a 64-59 AMA lead, with six minutes left, to a comfortable 76-66 lead for the Bakers in the endgame.
Casino fired 14 of his 20 points in the fourth, as he went 6-of-11 in shooting from threes, to go with five rebounds and five assists.
“Alam naman natin na shooter talaga si JK. Sa team naman namin, everybody can shoot and today was JK’s day. Thankful lang kami na na-save nya kami lahat,” said coach Egay Macaraya.
Congolese big man Rod Ebondo led Café France with a double-double of 25 markers, 14 boards, and two blocks, while Carl Bryan Cruz tallied 21 points and eight rebounds.
The Final Four cast has also been set with the win, with Café France, Racal, Phoenix, and Tanduay all gunning for the top two spots, which come with a twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals.
Rashawn McCarthy topped AMA (3-6) with 28 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while James Martinez got 15 markers, four boards, and three assists in the loss.
The Scores:
Cafe France (86) – Ebondo 25, Cruz 21, Casino 20, Zamar 7, Manlangit 5, Abundo 4, Jeruta 2, Parala 2, Anunciacion 0, Arim 0, Custodio 0, Opiso 0.
AMA (70) – McCarthy 28, Martinez 15, Ortega 8, Jordan 6, Arambulo 4, Jo. Montemayor 4, Asuncion 3, Taganas 2, Belleza 0, Bragais 0, Macaranas 0, Je. Montemayor 0.
Quarterscores: 25-20, 45-44, 54-55, 86-70.
