Acibar leads Boracay Rum past Junior Powerade

All alone inside the paint, Ken Acibar soared high as he went for a two-hand dunk midway in the fourth period. But to the disappointment of his team, the ball rattled out which prompted a frustrated Boracay Rum coach Lawrence Chongson to kick a piece of audio equipment near their bench.

Good thing for the Waves, Acibar redeemed himself following that miscue.

The former PBA draftee led a Boracay Rum rally late in the game as the Waves defeated Junior Powerade, 64-60, Tuesday in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Ynares Center.

Acibar had a team-high 17 points, including 10 in Boracay Rum’s 19-6 run in the final five minutes of the game, as the team claimed its first victory after three straight losses to begin the conference.

Junior Powerade was holding to a 54-45 lead after making a big turnaround in the third period. Ezer Rosopa connected on a lay-up but after that basket, Acibar missed a dunk with 4:50 to play in the game.

But Acibar, who was drafted by Barako Bull in last year’s PBA Draft, scored six straight Boracay Rum points after that miss to get his team back in the game. His basket at the 2:11 mark cut Junior Powerade’s lead to one point, 57-56.

Those baskets set the momentum for Boracay Rum. After Jason Escueta missed a lay-up for Junior Powerade, the Waves turned to Toto Bandaying as he nailed a jumper to regain the lead, 58-57. The Tigers could not connect on the next play and Acibar converted another basket with 1:09 in the game for a 60-57 edge.

Chongson was all praise for Acibar’s play this time as Boracay Rum bounced back from previous outings, which includes a one-point overtime loss to RnW Pacific Pipes in their last game.

“It took us four games to get that first win. We were always there pero hindi namin ma-solve ‘yung end game namin. We have to really take it each passing moment,” said Chongson.

“Katulad ng game namin against Pacific Pipes, siya ‘yung hero dahil nakahabol kami pero naging goat din sa huli. He is a gifted athlete and he is still young. Siguro, it was our time na makabawi kami,” he added.

Junior Powerade dropped to 2-2.

Bandaying had 12 points while Rosopa added 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Waves.

Mike Silungan led Junior Powerade with 17 points on four-of-eight shooting from three-point range but he was the lone double digit scorer for the Tigers.

Junior Powerade had a 19-11 edge in the third quarter for a 43-40 lead entering the fourth. That came after the Tigers scored only six in the second as they trailed, 29-24, at halftime.

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