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[av_heading heading=’ Villarias leads Cignal to Game 1 win in PBA D-League finals ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – Cignal HD Hawkeyes rode on the hot hands of John Byron Villarias to score a 78-56 win over Centro Escolar University Scorpions in Game 1 of the 2017 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Finals at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The Ilonggo Villarias led the way with 17 points and seven rebounds for Hawkeyes on Tuesday night.
The victory moved Cignal closer to its second straight title if it can repeat over Scorpions in Game 2 tonight.
Jason Perkins chipped in with double-double 16 points and 11 rebounds while Mark Bringas and Chris Sumalinog added 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Hawkeyes, which played without Gilas Pilipinas Cadet member Raymar Jose, could just become the third team to sweep the two the PBA D-League conference titles. This was done before by NLEX Road Warriors and Phoenix Accelerators.
Hawkeyes started strong in the match with a 24-6 run behind conversions by Villarias and Perkins. Scorpions responded with a run to come to as close as 12 points late in the second period.
Hawkeyes started to pull away anew in the third frame on baskets by Bringas and Alfred Batino before Perkins put on the finishing touches in the final quarter with his consecutive points from inside.
“Jason knows he’s a very important part of this team. It shows that he’s always been stepping up for us. We know that the challenge of stepping up is there, and I commend all my players,” said Hawkeyes head coach Boyet Fernandez.
Congolese center Rodrigue Ebondo led the way with double-double 27 points and 17 rebounds while Rich Guinitaran contributed 10 markers for Scorpions, which is hoping to extend the series to a Game 3 next week.
BOX SCORE:
CIGNAL 78 – Villarias 17, Perkins 16, Bringas 13, Sumalinog 11, Batino 8, Uyloan 6, Sara 4, Raymundo 3, Apinan 0, Arboleda 0, Arong 0, Belencion 0, Cahilig 0.
CEU 56 – Ebondo 27, Guinitaran 10, Aquino 6, Manlangit 4, Jeruta 3, Arim 2, Saber 2, Uri 2, Casiño 0, Cruz 0, Fuentes 0, Intic 0, Wamar 0.
Quarterscores: 24-11, 39-25, 59-43, 78-56/PN
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