SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The Cagayan Valley Rising Suns are off to the finals of the 2015 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup after crushing the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems, 103-85, in game three of the semifinal series on Thursday, February 12, at the San Juan Arena.
Top overall pick Moala Tautuaa finished with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists while Andrian Celada put up 16 markers and 8 boards to lead Cagayan Valley, who had to rally from a 0-1 deficit after dropping game one of the series.
Adamson Falcons standout Don Trollano also pitched in, finishing with 14 points – 11 of which coming in the final quarter – in addition to 7 rebounds.
Abel Galliguez and Ali Austria both played well for the winning side as well, putting up a combined 24 points and 7 assists.
The momentum of the game shifted midway through the first half, as the Rising Suns used a 13-0 run bridged by the end of the first quarter and start of the second. The rally put Tautuaa and company up by 7, 32-25.
Both clubs went back and forth for majority of the following periods, and the Gems managed to get within three, 82-79, at one point in the final quarter.
Cagayan then went on a 6-2 run to extend their advantage back up to 7 before unleashing a game-deciding 13-0 spurt that put them on top 101-81 with less than two minutes to go.
UST Growling Tigers forward Kevin Ferrer led Cebuana with 18 points and 5 rebounds, while former DLSU Green Archers big man Norbert Torres finished with 15 points and 13 boards to cap off an impressive D-League debut conference.
Simon Enciso put up 14 markers and 4 assists for the Gems, who sorely missed the scoring of Clark Bautista and Almond Vosotros, both of whom failed to contribute any point on the scoreboard.
The Rising Suns made 48% of their field goals and limited their opponents to 42% shooting. Cagayan also made 48% of their triples, going 13-of-27 from deep.
The Gems turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 19 Cagayan Valley points. The Rising Suns did a much better job of taking care of the handle, coughing up the ball just 8 times that led to only 2 points for Cebuana.
Cagayan will face Hapee in the finals that begin on Monday, February 16. Both clubs were the top two teams in the league standings in the elimination round.
Scores:
Cagayan Valley (103) – Tautuaa 22, Celada 16, Trollano 14, Galliguez 14, Austria 10, Melano 8, Salamat 7, Mabulac 4, Capacio 3, Dilay 2, Tayongtong 2, Flores 1, Olayon 0, Santos 0
Cebuana Lhuillier (85) – Ferrer 18, Torres 15, Enciso 14, Mangahas, A 12, Mangahas, J 10, Zamar 7, Lopez 3, Acibar 2, Villahermosa 2, Sarangay 2, Bautista 0, Vosotros 0
Quarter Scoring: 25-25, 55-47, 73-68, 103-85
– Rappler.com
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