MANILA – Che’Lu Bar and Grill Revellers ended the semifinals hopes of Batangas-EAC Generals with a 100-93 victory in the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Stephen Siruma and Jeff Viernes led the way with 19 points apiece on Thursday. Jessie Collado and Jason Melano added 18 and 12 points, respectively.
With the win, the Revellers remained on top with 7-2 win-loss card.
The victory of the Revellers also formalized the semifinals casts of the Foundation Cup. Joining them were second placer Go For Gold Scratchers (6-2), Marinerong Pilipino-TIP (5-3) and Centro Escolar University Scorpions (5-4).
The Generals tried to salvage its playoffs hopes after erasing Revellers’ 12-point lead to 93-96 with 1:37 left in the games. Viernes, however, dashed the hopes of their opponent with four free throws for the Revellers.
“Yun nga sinasabi ko eh, complacency. Siguro, ang tingin ng mga players namin, kaya naman i-walkthrough lang itong kalaban,” rued Revellers head coach Stevenson Tiu. “We have to prepare every game. We have to get ready and practice hard.”
Cedric de Joya top-scored with 19 points while Clark Derige got a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Generals.
With the loss, Batangas-EAC slid down to 3-6 dashing their semifinals hopes.
In the first game, Scorpions banked on the hot shooting of Pierce Chan to stave off the cellar-dwelling AMA Online Education Titans. Chan finished with double-double 30 points and 13 rebounds for the Scorpions.
The Scorpions surged to a 46-31 halftime lead behind the hot shooting of Chan and Rich Guinitaran. It grew further to as high as 61-40 later in the second half on a basket by Orlan Wamar./PN
