Reigning champion EcoOil-La Salle defeated Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda, 82-71, on Thursday and advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The Green Archers, who swept the Red Lions in last year's finals, stamped their class right from the get go and were never really challenged the rest of the way.
"The first thing we told our players heading into this game was we have to respect San Beda. They're not the NCAA champions for nothing and they're coming off a tough loss against CEU so we expected a physical battle," said La Salle assistant coach Gian Nazario.
The top-seeded Archers, who completed a five-game sweep of their assignments, also earned for Centro Escolar University (4-1) an outright passage into the semifinals.
It was a tough loss for the Red Lions, who absorbed their second defeat in a span of three days. They finished with 3-2 mark and are relegated to the quarterfinals, although with a twice-to-beat advantage against Keanzel Basketball.
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The other quarterfinal pairing pits Go Torakku-St. Clare (2-3) and CCI-Yengskivel (1-4) with the former also enjoying a win-once bonus.
Joshua David led La Salle's balanced attack with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists while Jonnel Policarpio and Raven Cortez produced 13 apiece.
At the halftime mark, the Green Archers were already miles away at 49-30 and the Red Lions, despite multiple comeback attempts, could not climb out of the big hole.
Bryan Sajonia scored 21 points while Yukien Andrada, RC Calimag and Puno added 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Red Lions. (JBU)
The Scores:
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EcoOil-La Salle 82 - David 14, Policarpio 13, Cortez 13, Phillips 11, Agunanne 11, Macalalag 8, Austria 7, Abadam 5, Alian 0, Gollena 0, Gaspay 0, Romero 0, Buensalida 0.
Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda 71 - Sajonia 21, Andrada 16, Calimag R.C. 13, Puno 10, Calimag Jr. 6, Gonzales 3, Songcuya 2, Estacio 0, Tagle 0, Payosing 0, Celzo 0, Royo 0.
Quarterscores: 21-13, 49-30, 65-50, 82-71.
