By Dave Coros
BRYAN CRUZ scattered 26 points to help CaféFrance defeat Caida Tiles, 90-87, on Thursday in a matchup of leaders in the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League Aspirants Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena.
The Bakers clawed back from a 24-point deficit by outplaying the Tile Masters in the breathtaking second half.
CaféFrance turned the game around in the third quarter with good ball movement, pressure defense and a 45-percent shooting. The Bakers outscored the Tile Masters, 27-11, in the period and held off repeated rallies by Caida Tiles in the fourth to clinch their fourth win in as many games.
Earlier, Tanduay Rhum held off Wang’s Basketball, 90-75, for its second straight win to improve to 2-2.
Rudy Lingganay and Adrian Santos each scored 16 points, Reden Celda had 14 and Von Pessumal added 12 for the Rhum Masters, who held off repeated rallies by the Couriers with a strong finish.
Clark Bautista and Mark Romero scored 13 apiece, James Mangahas added 10 and Jonathan Banal had six assists for the Couriers, who kept the game close in the fourth but lost control with a series of turnovers in the last three minutes. Wang’s Basketball fell to 1-3.
“I was so angry at the half because my players are not playing defense the way we’re supposed to. But I thought they responded well in the second half and our patience offensively got us this win,” CaféFrance Coach Egay Macaraya said.
But it was Cruz and Rodrigue Ebondo who made it all happen. Cruz scored 21 of his total points in the second half, including four-of-seven from three-point range while Ebondo scored 11 of his 18 points in the last 20 minutes to fuel the Bakers’ comeback. Ebondo also grabbed 14 rebounds for his third double-double in the tournament.
“Bryan is our special weapon. That’s why I took him in even when he was injured. He really can shoot,” said Macaraya of his energetic forward.
Paul Zamar also stepped up big time for the Bakers, who turned the game around with a 13-1 run that wiped out a 67-71 deficit early in the third. They never trailed after that.
Philip Paniamogan scored 15 points and Rey Nambatac added 13 for the Tile Masters, who led by as many as 52-28 late in the second quarter. Caida Tiles absorbed its first loss in four games.
Caida Tiles bench outscored Café France’s, 61-4, but the Bakers ruled the boards, 52-34 while going 12 of 30 from three-point range.