JOSAN Nimes had 33 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, to pull Café France to an 84-80 victory over Boracay Rum on Monday in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at the JCSGO gym.
Nimes, a former NCAA Rookie of the Year, scored eight points — including a four-point play— in a 10-1 run by Café France that increased the Bakers’ lead to 82-72 with 1:37 left in the fourth.
The Bakers recorded their second victory in four matches.
Boracay Rum was still able to cut the deficit to two points on a Mark Belo basket with 31.8 seconds to play, 82-80. Chris Banchero, however, committed a turnover after Ryan Gallardo stole the ball from him. Gallardo hit two free throws with 1.4 seconds to settle the final score.
Café France’s strategy of allowing Nimes to play point guard also paid off after Eloy Poligrates and Ping Exciminiano have signed with Talk ’N Text and Alaska after being picked in the PBA Draft.
“Isa ’yun sa mga adjustments. Dahil wala kaming point guard. At least nanalo naman,” said Café France coach Egay Macaraya.
Boracay Rum dropped to its second straight loss for a 1-2 win-loss record.
Mike Parala had 15 points and Cameroonian import Rod Ebondo added 10 points and 11 rebounds for Café France.
The scores:
Café France (84) – Nimes 33, Parala 15, Ebondo 10, Abundo 9, Montilla 6, Gallardo 4, Celso 2, Sedurifa 2, Mutombo 2, Sarangay 1, Opiso 0, De Leon 0, Knuttel 0.
Boracay Rum (80) – Banchero 16, Belo 15, Taha 11, Cabrera 10, Sabellina 10, Arellano 7, Ilagan 6, Siruma 5, Bautista 0, Acibar 0, Tagarda 0, Eguilos 0.
Quarterscores: 19-24; 43-41; 62-62; 84-80.
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