The PBA D League Aspirants’ Cup championship trophy will stay at Taft Avenue.
De La Salle University-Ecooil dominated the Centro Escolar University Scorpions once again in Game 2 of their best-of-three titular showdown, winning 96-66 on Thursday night to emerge as champions of the tournament for the third straight year.
La Salle-Ecooil set the tone of the rout early, with CJ Austria leading the charge that catapulted the Green Archers to a 33-16 advantage after the first quarter.
The three-peat champions maintained the margin after two quarters as the Scorpions continued to struggle with their shots. CEU connected on just 33 percent of its field goals in the first quarter and made only five of 23 attempts in the second period for a woeful 21 percent clip.
Without injured big man Abdul-Wahab Olusesi for the second straight game, CEU had a tough time defending the middle against La Salle Nigerian center Henry Agunane, who repeatedly scored on dunks and easy shots.
In claiming their third straight title, La Salle-Ecooil finished the tournament without a loss in nine games.
They also became the second team to win three in a row after NLEX, which won four consecutive titles and six overall.
Austria finished with 19 points and had two steals in only 21 minutes of play. JC Macalalag had 17, Raven Cortez chipped in 12, and Agunanne added 10.
(C) PBA Images
Conference MVP Mike Phillips turned in a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Phillips stepped up big time in the absence of Kevin Quiambao by tallying double-double averages of 12.3 points and 11.6 rebounds, including four offensive boards per game.
“First of all, I would like to thank the Lord for giving us this championship. We would like to thank the EcoOil management, the coaching staff, and the players,” said La Salle assistant coach Gian Nazario.
“It’s nice to be in this position. ‘Yun naman ang end goal namin, to win the championship. Hats off to CEU. They really had a great D-League run. They deserved to be in the finals, and we’re appreciative that we grew together here in the D-League,” he added as they now head to the Filoil Ecooil Preseason Cup.
Franz Ray Diaz, Daniel Marcelo, and Jayson Puray led CEU with 14, 13, and 12 points, respectively.
The Scores:
La Salle-Ecooil 96 – Austria 19, Macalalag 17, Cortez 12, Phillips 11, Agunanne 10, Abadam 7, David 5, Marasigan 3, Policarpio 3, Gollena 3, Romero 2, Buensalida 2, Alian 2, Gaspay 0, Rubico 0.
CEU 66 – Diaz 14, Marcelo 13, Puray 12, Dabin 9, Benabe 6, Gamboa 6, Guevarra 5, Santos 1, De Guzman 0, Benitez 0, Malicana 0, Mendoza 0, Serrano 0.
Quarterscores: 33-16, 47-30, 66-47, 96-66.
