Blackwater Sports capitalized on a strong first half to dominate Café France, 96-65, on Tuesday in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Treston gym in Taguig City.

 

Clark Bautista came off the bench to score 20 points and reserve point guard Jeric Fortuna added 12 points for the Elite, who earned a twice to beat advantage in the quarterfinals by closing the eliminations with a 6-3 mark.

 

Blackwater Sports coach Leo Isaac described their lopsided victory as “very impressive and a good sign” for the team heading into the playoffs.  

 

“We played great today. The intensity was really infectious. And that’s a good sign,” Isaac said.

 

The Elite set the tone by shooting 58 percent from the floor in the opening quarter. They stayed hot in the second period as Clark Bautista scored 12 points on 4 of 4 shooting from the 3-point range.

 

The Bakers were just five points down when Bautista drilled 3 consecutive 3-point shot to spark a 24-12 run that gave the Elite a comfortable 53-36 halftime advantage.

  

Neil Pascual tallied 12 points with 15 rebounds and Paul Zamar contributed 11 for the Elite, who never trailed after a taking a 7-2 lead. Pascual capped his sterling performance with six assists and three steals.

 

Euligio Lamosa scored 18 points off the bench as did Ramon Mabayo, who turned in 12 points for the Bakers, who fell to their second straight loss and wound up its elimination round campaign with 3-6 record.

 

It was a frustrating loss for the Bakers, who had high hopes of advancing in the quarterfinals but played without a sense of urgency in their last two games.

 

The scores:

 

Blackwater Sports 96 – Bautista 20, Fortuna 12, Pascual 12, Zamar 11, Mandani 9, Celiz 7, G. Ciriacruz 6, I. Ciriacruz 5, Jeffries 5, Lo 4, Montemayor 4, Afuang 1.

 

Café France 65 – Lamosa 18, Mabayo 12, Knuttel 9, Semira 5, Nimes 4, Parala 4, Alquisalas 4, Racal 3, Gallardo 2, Guillen 2, Magat 2, Deutchmam 0, Garcia 0, Magbitang 0.

 

Quarters: 23-16; 53-36; 68-44; 96-65