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Games on Tuesday (The Arena)
3 p.m. – Cebuana Lhuillier vs NLEX
Cebuana Lhuillier got significant contributions from just about everybody and toppled the
overmatched PC Gilmore Wizards, 83-55, in their knockout semi-final duel Thursday that sent the Gems
into the championship series of the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig
City.
The Gems got their game going early and pulled away in the third quarter as Kevin Alas and James
Sena took over the scoring and frustrated their rivals.
Narciso Llagas was the most consistent scorer among the Gems, going 9 of 10 from the field and
finishing with a game-high 19 points that went with his 10 rebounds for a double-double.
The Gems, the Group B top seed, also got outstanding efforts from James Sena (11 points) and Ariel
Mepana, who did a good job in taking away the games of the Wizards’ big men.
They will need a lot of it in the finals.
The NLEX Road Warriors put on a dominating performance in the other semi-final to smother Max! Bond
Super Glue, 74-61, and arrange a title duel with Cebuana Lhuillier.
Game 1 of the best-of-three series will start on Tuesday at The Arena in San Juan.
The Road Warriors’ intention of securing their place in the championship series was never in
doubt.
They displayed their A-1 game. They got their offensive rhythm early. And they punished the Sumos
off the boards.
Their spectacular performance effectively put the Road Warriors in total control by halftime, 43-25.
“Three-fourths of our job is done. Now, we have to prepare for Cebuana Lhuillier. I think it will
be tough series,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez.
Calvin Abueva scored 19 points, Ronald Pascual had 14 and Eric Salamat added 11 for the Road
Warriors, who outshot and outrebounded their rivals before slowing down a bit in the fourth.
“I thought we rotated well and did a good job on defense,” said Cebuana Lhuillier coach Luigi
Trillo.
He admitted that PC Gilmore was not as deep as his team but cited the Wizards downfall to their poor
shooting. The Gems enjoyed their biggest lead at 81-53 on Llagas’ basket with 2:50 remaining in
the game.
“I think their shooters – Carlo Lastimosa, Jett Vidal and Allan Mangahas – got a lot of good
looks. They just didn’t fall.”
As a team, the Gems shot 53 percent (31 of 59). They also dominated the boards, 50-32, and were
unselfish with their 25 assists.
In a game that mattered most, the Wizards played their worst. They were slow on defense, they
allowed themselves to be pushed around and to make matters even worse, PC Gilmore made just 31
percent (19 of 61) of its attempts.
The most significant threat encountered by the Gems came in the second quarter when Vidal (8 points)
layup to pull the Wizard within 24-26 with 3:59 left in the period.
But Cebuana Lhuillier quickly responded with 14-3 run to close the quarter and led 38-29 at the
half. Llagas and Allein Maliksi each scored five points in that spurt and PC Gilmore never got
closer then eight points the rest of the way.
“It’s a humbling experience. It’s nice to be in the finals. But there’s still job to be
done. We can’t underachieve and be happy on advancing to the finals,” Trillo said.
Jam Cortes and Eric Agas each scored 13 points for PC Gilmore. Lastimosa, usually among the
Wizards’ top scorers, managed just 9 points on 3 of 10 shooting and Mangahas, another marksman,
turned in 5 points on 2 of 9 clip. (DBC)
The scores:
First Game Cebuana Lhuillier 83 --Llagas 19, Maliksi 13, Sena 11, Alas 9, Elinon 7, Fernandez 6,
Mepana 6, Canta 6, Mandani 2, Hayes 2, Lee 2, Bagatsing 0, Semira 0.
PC Gilmore 55 – Agas 13, Cortes 13, Lastimosa 9, Vidal 8, Mangahas 5, Acosta 4, Parala 2, Dysum 1,
Magbanua 0, Sarangay 0, Sorongon 0, Sinco 0, McCoy 0, Almasan 0.
Quarters: 17-14; 38-29; 65-48; 83-55.
Second Game
NLEX 74 – Abueva 19, Pascual 14, Salamat 11, Hodge 7, Co 7, Taganas 5, Menor 4, Ellis 4,
Sanggalang 3, Belencion 0, Raymundo 0.
Max! Bond Super Glue 61 – Cervantes 16, Cabatu 12, Lingganay 10, Bautista 6, Navarro 5, Teng 4,
Hugnatan 4, Fortuna 2, Benites 2, Cuan 0, Camus 0, Afuang 0.
Quarters: 25-14; 43-25; 65-38; 74-61.
Source: PBA.ph
