Cignal blasts Gamboa in record rout; CEU shocks Batangas

PBA
By Dugout Philippines

PASIG--Cignal HD clobbered Gamboa Coffee Mix and zapped its way to the history books with a 118-51 mauling of Gamboa Coffee Mix in the 2017 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Thursday at Ynares Sports Arena.

Anchored by the strong starts from Pamboy Raymundo and Jason Perkins, the Hawkeyes duo teamed up for 13 of the squad’s 27 first quarter points before the rest of the team followed suit, jumping to a 50-24 halftime edge.

Not helping the Coffee Lovers was the ankle injury on Mark Sarangay early on, which left a gaping hole in the middle for Gamboa. That allowed Cignal to bully its way inside as Mark Bringas fired the finishing blow with a lay-up in the final 13.9 ticks to seal the new PBA D-League record for the biggest winning margin at 67 points.

The Hawkeyes erased the previous record set by NLEX, coincidentally also coached by Boyet Fernandez, when it battered Zambales M-Builders by 64 points, 125-61 on Jan. 30, 2014.

“Ang reminder ko lang is I wanted to see the discipline on our execution,” said Fernandez, whose side rose to a 4-2 slate.

Raymundo topped Cignal with 17 points, Raymar Jose did it all in his short time on the floor with 15 markers, seven rebounds, and two dimes, and Perkins unfurled all of his nine points, 10 boards and four assists in the first half.

The huge lead allowed the Hawkeyes to share the minutes to their bench players, with Byron Villarias going for 17 markers, five rebounds, and two assists, Jeremy Bartolo pouring 14 points, and Dan Sara dropping 10.

Cignal can now move forward and prepare for its Finals rematch against Racal on Tuesday to cap off its seven games-in-10 playdates schedule.

“Ito na yung preparation namin our game against Racal. Again, we need to win these games so that we’ll have a little buffer in order for us to achieve our goal of making the quarters,” said Fernandez.

Ken Acibar led Gamboa (1-2) with 10 points and four rebounds, while Val Acuña chipped in nine in the losing effort.

In the second game, Rod Ebondo imposed his will to carry Centro Escolar University to a tight 72-70 victory over Batangas for its breakthrough win.

The Congolese center dominated in the paint and saved his biggest plays in the final minute, scoring the go-ahead putback with 18.1 seconds to play to push the Scorpions up, 71-70, before blocking Joseph Sedurifa the game-winner in the waning seconds to give coach Yong Garcia his first win in the PBA D-League.

“Wala na kong masabi kay Rodrigue. Talagang all-out siya para sa amin,” said the youthful mentor.

Ebondo unleashed a monster double-double of 26 points and 22 rebounds, to go with his six blocks as CEU improved to a 1-2 slate.

Christian Uri chipped in 10 markers, Orlan Wamar got nine points and five boards, and Art Aquino registered eight markers and five rebounds to aid Ebondo in the win despite the Scorpions losing hold of a 58-50 edge early in the payoff period.

Cedrick Ablaza and Jessie Saitanan led the late rally, which even gave Batangas a 70-68 advantage with 1:11 to play, but CEU clamped down on defense behind Ebondo as it denied the Batangueños any crack at the basket.

Ablaza pumped 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists, while Saitanan had 12 markers and two boards in Batangas’ first loss of the tourney.

Box Scores:

First Game:
Cignal 118-Raymundo 17, Villarias 17, Jose 15, Bartolo 14, Sara 10, Perkins 9, Bringas 9, Arboleda 6, Potts 6, Cahilig 6, Batino 4, Sumalinog 3, Arong 2, Atkins 0

Gamboa 51-Acibar 10, Acuña 9, Montuano 8, Dadjilul 5, Jumao-as 4, Vidal 3, Avenido 3, Padilla 2, Knuttel 2, David 2, Lacastesantos 2, Sarangay 1, Riva 0, Arellano 0

Quarterscores: 27-17, 50-24, 90-35, 118-51

Second Game:
CEU 72-Ebondo 26, Uri 10, Wamar 9, Aquino 8, Intic 6, Casiño 4, Jeruta 3, Arim 2, Cruz 2, Manlangit 2, Guinitaran 0

Batangas 70-Ablaza 16, Saitanan 12, Sedurifa 9, Bautista 8, De Joya 8, Dela Peña 7, Isit 4, Laude 4, Ragasa 2, Anderson 0, Mag-isa 0, Mendoza 0

Quarterscores: 23-13, 37-33, 56-50, 72-70

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