Caida withstands Mindanao's upset bid for share of lead

PBA
By Ivan Saldajeno

SAN JUAN, MM--Caida bounced back from a poor third quarter to escape Mindanao's upset ax with a 95-87 victory in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at the FilOil Flying V Centre on Tuesday.

Leading, 43-36, at halftime, the Tile Masters found themselves conceding 36 points to the Aguilas in the third quarter and having to climb a nine-point hole early in the fourth.

Caida went on a 20-8 run to retake the lead, 86-83, with less than three minutes left in the game.

Mindanao tried to regain the lead, going to within as close as one, 87-88, with 51.5 seconds remaining.

The Tile Masters, however, scored the game's final seven points, five from Jason Perkins including a dagger triple with 38 seconds to go, to secure their sixth win of the tournament.

Philip Paniamogan tallied 18 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Roider Cabrera added 15 points, four rebounds, and one assist for Caida, which tied Cafe France-CEU at the top of the team standings with one game left in their respective elimination round schedules.

Eric Salamat sizzled for 21 markers, one carom, four dimes, and two swipes for Mindanao, which provisionally tied Wang's at the bottom of the team standings, putting the team in danger of being the only team to be knocked out of contention after the preliminaries. Wang's is playing BDO-NU as of posting.

Box Scores:

Caida 95-Paniamogan 18, Cabrera 15, Javier 13, Terso 12, Grey 11, Jalalon 10, Perkins 8, Gabawan 3, Robles 2, Parala 2, Ruaya 1, Lozada 0

Mindanao 87-Salamat 21, Acibar 15, Ongteco 14, Jumao-as 10, Celiz 7, Garcia 7, Sarangay 4, Ignacio 4, Julkipli 2, Villanueva 2, Rivera 1, Ferrer 0, Argamino 0, Nalos 0

Quarterscores: 23-17, 43-36, 66-72, 95-87

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