Hawkeyes routs Racal to bag first D-League championship
n rt MANILA – The Cignal-San Beda Hawkeyes recovered from a double- digit deficit to score an 81- 78 win over the Racal Tile Masters and claim the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup championship on Thursday night at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Jayvee Mocon led the way with a conference- best 25 points, including 11 of his team’s last 13 points, for the Hawkeyes, which captured its first- ever championship in the league.
J a s o n Perkins a l s o dropped 21 markers, while Conference MVP Robert Bolick g ot 14 points, i ncluding t hree t hree- point conversions, and John Murphy Raymundo had 13 for the Hawkeyes.
“I still believe in our team work. If not for the boys, we’ll not win this one. We didn’t give up,” said Hawkeyes head coach Teodorico Fernandez, who personally won his seventh PBA D-League title.
The Hawkeyes bucked its poor start and clawed back from a 13-point deficit, 42- 29, before eventually knotting the score at 48- all with a hot 13-5 run to open the second half.
That set up the cardiac finish, with Mocon leading his squad in the last seven minutes and giving his side a 75- 70 lead. The Tile Masters came to as close as 79- 78 but two free throws by Bolick sealed the win for the Hawkeyes.
“He ( Mocon) picked up where he left off and he did a good job. He’s been very positive for us and today, he stepped up big for us,” said Fernandez, who steered the NLEX Road Warriors to six PBA D-League titles.
Jackson Corpuz finished with 24 points and nine rebounds, while J oseph Gabayni got 18 markers and nine rebounds for the Tile Masters, which is also on its first- ever PBA D- League finals stint./
PN