THE TIGERS-LED Max Bond Super Glue Sumos rebounded from opening game jitters, blasting out the winless Café France squad, 83-62, for their first win in the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League (PBA D-League) Foundation Cup at the Adamson University Gym last March 29.
The Sumos took an early 11-point lead, 17-6, as they banked on the scoring of Roel Hugnatan, an Asean Basketball League veteran.
They were clearly responding to the challenge of new coach Pido Jarencio, who admitted allowing the Sumos to have their way in the previous game.
“In the last game, I gave them the chance to follow what they wanted to happen,” Jarencio said. “Then I told them that this time, they had to listen to what I wanted [them] to do.”
Low-post attacks from Reil Cervantes, a former Far Eastern University bigman, kept the Sumos ahead even as Café France’s Leeward Lobaton sank a trey and trimmed the lead down to just seven, 42-35, at the end of the first half.
Cervantes then teamed up with Rudy Lingganay to sustain the Sumos’ onslaught in the second half. Tigers’ Carmelo Afuang joined the scoring rally as he converted a bonus freethrow to complete a three-point play and extend the lead to 15, 62-47.
Lingganay topscored for the Sumos with 23 points while Afuang chipped in with nine markers. Lobaton carried the scoring cudgels for Café France with 15 points.
Outclassed
In their first game, the debuting Sumos were outclassed by the San Beda Red Lions-led Maynilad Water Dragons, 61-82, last March 22 at the FEU gym.
“We need to get to know each other. We have been together for only two or three weeks. I think we need more time to jell,” said UST’s Jeric Fortuna.
Tiger star Jeric Teng, along with Cervantes and Junjun Cabatu, led the Sumos with a combined 43 points, but they were no match against the Dragons’ deadly offense.
The Sumos cut the deficit to 10, 35-45, at the end of the first half, but that was the closest they could get as Maynilad’s lead swelled to 21 points at the end of the final quarter.
Jarencio’s wards were completely dominated in the third canto with the lead ballooning to 22, 48-70. Same was the story in the final quarter as the Water Dragons pounded both the paint and the perimeter deadly shooting, punctuated by Sudan Daniel’s slam dunk. Frauleine Michelle S. Villanueva with a report from Angelo Cabrera
