Blackwater Sports gains share of lead

Blackwater Sports grabbed a share of the lead in the standings as it eked past the Jumbo Plastic Giants, 72-69, in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup yesterday at the Blue Eagle gym in Quezon City.

In the other game, the reigning champions NLEX Road Warriors improved to 3-2 (win-loss) after they blasted the Café France Bakers, 85-62.

It was the Road Warriors’ third straight win and they did it with a strong second half effort that saw them outscore the Bakers, 58-29. In addition, the win also snapped the Bakers’ four-game winning run.

In the first game, the Elite pushed their record to 5-1, thanks to the last-second heroics of Gio Ciriacruz and Justin Chua. Ciriacruz hit a crucial three pointer while Chua connected on an inside basket off a nice assist by Allan Mangahas with 43.6 seconds remaining to secure the win for Blackwater.

Chua had 12 points and 10 rebounds to pace the winners. Jumbo Plastic fell to a league-worst 1-5 mark.

The Elite also averted a disaster as they led, 64-51, at the end of the third canto before getting complacent and allowing the Giants to come within four late in the match. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio