Blackwater clinches twice-to-beat advantage for D-League quarters

Blackwater Sports earned a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals by defeating Café France, 96-65, Tuesday in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Treston Gym in Taguig City.

Tata Bautista and Jeric Fortuna came off the bench to score 20 and 12 points, respectively, for the Elite as they improved to a 6-3 win-loss mark at the close of their elimination round campaign.

The lopsided victory earned praises from Blackwater Sports coach Leo Isaac as they enter the playoff stage.

“It’s a good sign for us. We played great and the intensity was really infectious,” said Isaac, whose team played without Kelly Nabong for personal reasons but grabbed the win anyway.

The Elite came out firing on the offensive end, shooting 58 percent in the first quarter. They stayed hot in the second period as Bautista knocked in four three-pointers.

Neil Pascual had 12 points and 15 rebounds while Paul Zamar added 11 for Blackwater Sports.

In the second game, Lester Alvarez had 17 points including three key free throws at the one-minute mark as Cebuana Lhuillier survived to defeat Erase Plantcenta, 84-77.

Alvarez was fouled by Marlon Gomez, sending the former Adamson point guard to the free throw line. He nailed all his free throws to break a 77-all deadlock.

The Gems improved to 7-2 and will gain the outright spot in the Final Four if idle Big Chill (6-2) loses to RnW Pacific Pipes on Thursday. A Big Chill win will give the Superchargers the semifinal seat via the winner-over-the-other rule.

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