CEBUANA Lhuillier put on the move after the early exit of Hogs Breath Café main man Kevin Racal, cruising to an 84-62 victory on Tuesday in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at The Arena in San Juan.
The Gems outscored the Razorbacks, 25-12, in the second quarter after Racal left the game in the first due to an injured knee and Cebuana Lhuillier improved its win-loss mark to 3-2 to close in on league-leader Fruitas (3-0).
Racal crashed hard on the floor after Paul Zamar faked a three-point attempt near the end of the first period. He never returned and the Razorbacks failed to mount a fightback without their top scorer.
“It was a big loss for Hogs. Racal is the face of Hogs,” said Cebuana Lhuillier coach Beaujing Acot.
Despite Racal’s absence, Acot said that they succeeded in limiting the production of Jonathan Belorio, Chris Cayabyab and Mark Pangilinan.
“We didn’t look at it that way,” Acot said, referring to Racal’s absence being a big help for the Gems. “It was still a 5-on-5 game.
“Special mention ’yung apat because we feel that they can dominate the game. We limited them,” said Acot.
Alvin Padilla scored half of his 18 points in the pivotal second period for the Gems. Gab Banal and Paul Zamar had 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Michael Lima had 12 points, while Pangilinan had 10, the only double-figure scorers for the Razorbacks, who fell to 1-4.
The scores:
Cebuana Lhuillier (84) – Padilla 18, Banal 14, Zamar 12, Buensuceso 7, Aguilar 6, Bautista 5, Custodio 5, Bustos 4, Lopez 4, Martinez 3, Montecastro 3, Elinon 2, Chiu 1.
Hogs Breath Café (62) – Lima 12, Pangilinan 10, Belorio 9, Robles 8, Roy 7, Morillo 6, Eman 4, Alguno 2, Malinao 2, Racal 2, Rabalo 0, Cayabyab 0, Macasaet 0.
Quarterscores: 22-15; 47-27; 65-45; 84-62.
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