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Jeff Viernes poured 11 points in the fourth quarter including his team’s last nine points as Café France stunned Freego Jeans, 78-76, on Tuesday in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at The Arena in San Juan.
The late explosion by the Cafe France guard capped a remarkable comeback by the Bakers, who had shaky start but finished strong to deal Freego Jeans the shocking loss.
“Jeff played only in NAASCU and that’s the only reason I could think of why he is overlooked by other teams. Pero sa totoo lang, kumpletos rekados siya. May shooting at may depensa,” Café France coach Egay Macaraya said of the 5-foot-8 shooting guard.
Viernes finished with a game-high 24 points and was a pain in the neck for the Jeans Makers in the fourth quarter.
After Raymond Austria made a free throw to give Freego Jeans a 72-69 lead with 2:46 to play, Vierness suddenly found his offensive rhythm.
He knocked one shot after the other, putting his team ahead to stay with tough jumper over Freego Jeans forward Alex Nuyles, 74-72, with 1:23 remaining.
“Hindi masaya ang Pasko naming dahil sa dalawan talo naming. Pero masaya naman ang bagong taon naming dahil nakabawi kami,” Macaraya said.
The win snapped a two-game skid and gave Café France a chance of still making the quarterfinals although Macaraya doesn’t seem optimistic about it. The Bakers wind up their elimination round campaign against DUB Unlimited and NLEX.
“We have a pretty good match-up against DUB but we are overmatched against NLEX,” he noted.
It was a frustrating loss for the Jeans Makers, who had hope to win their last two games to stay in the hunt for an outright semifinal berth.
With their second straight loss and third overall in nine games they practically said goodbye to their aspiration. The good thing is that they are still deep in the race for a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
Obviously, Freego Jeans’ unexpected defeat is a music to the ear of Cebuana Lhuillier coach Luigi Trillo and his troops.
Café France’s upset victory secured the Gems’ place in the Final Four regardless the result of kits last elimination game against NLEX on Jan. 12.
Alex Nuyles showed the way for Freego Jeans with 22 points. Eric Camson had 13 and Lester Alvares added 10 for the Jeans Makers, who shots poorly down the stretch and committed crucial turnovers. They were also outrebounded, 36-48.
Source: Dave Corros, PBA D-League
