Cignal’s strong start cushions Racal surge
Game on Monday (Filoil Flying V Center) 4 p.m. – Cignal vs Racal
Cignal-San Beda bucked a near meltdown in the fourth quarter as it subdued Racal, 93-85, to take Game One of their best-of-three finals series in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City yesterday.
Hardly challenged in the first two quarters, the Hawkeyes hit their mark early to build leads of as many as 21 points, 69-48, in the third but had to douse a spirited fightback by the Tile Masters in the payoff period to inch closer to the crown.
Jason Perkins and veteran Pamboy Raymundo teamed up for Cignal in the first half, allowing the Hawkeyes to enjoy an early 26-9 edge in the first period and sustain their run.
Perkins and Raymundo combined for 36 points in the first two quarters as Cignal nailed 52 percent of its shots while Racal was held to a 9-for-36 clip.
Rey Nambatac and Thomas Torres, however, caught fire in the fourth, knocking down three triples in a key run that pushed the Tile Masters close at 81-86 with 2:26 remaining.
But Racal, which last threatened on another trey by Nambatac to close in at 84-90 with 1:19 left, lost steam in the end.
Perkins led the way for Cignal with 28 markers and eight rebounds, Raymundo swung 21 points and Robert Bolick churned out 19 points and dished out six assists.
Nambatac unloaded 23 points, Jackson Corpuz poured 15 and Sidney Onwubere put in 14 markers and 13 rebounds for Racal which faces a must-win situation in Game Two on Monday.
The Tile Masters missed the services of Kent Salado in the final 9:02 of the match as he sustained a mild right ankle sprain after stepping on the foot of Perkins in a rebound attempt.
Salado had seven points and 10 boards prior his exit.
“We started really strong. We were up by 19 points at halftime. But as I’ve always said, a team like Racal is capable of coming back. It’s really the boys who stepped up today. They stopped the bleeding,” said Cignal head coach Boyet Fernandez.
The six-time league champion tactician, however, rued his charges’ fourth quarter showing where they nearly squandered a 21-point advantage.
“If you give Racal that kind of defense we had in the fourth then we have a problem on Monday. We’re happy we had a big lead. If not, we could have lost the game,” said Fernandez.