CEBUANO guard Paul Desiderio continued to showcase his seamless transition into the semi-pro level as he scored 19 points to lead the Café France Bakers over the Blustar Detergent, 88-52, in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup yesterday at the JCSGO Gym.
Desiderio, a Liloan-native who once starred at the University of the Visayas (UV) before making his mark with the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons in the UAAP, sank five three-pointers, four coming after halftime, to help the Bakers pull away for good from the visiting Malaysians.
Rodrigue Ebondo also dominated early and scored all 14 of his points in the first half which ended with the Bakers already ahead, 51-22, after outscoring Blustar, 30-6.
Café France, which is coming off a humbling 74-88 loss to Cignal, improved to 2-1 and kept Blustar winless in three tries.
The Scores:
CAFE FRANCE 88 – Desiderio 19, Ebondo 14, Veron 9, Manlangit 8, Gabriel 7, Arim 6, Aquino 4, Guinitaran 4, Jeruta 4, Calisaan 3, Casino 3, Opiso 3, Faundo 2, Wamar 2.
BLUSTAR 52 – Mak 15, Melano 12, Kwaan 11, Heng 5, Ong 5, Ang 4, Choong 0, Gan 0, Kamalrulzaman 0, Liaw 0, Liew 0, Wong 0, Chin 0.
Quarterscores: 21-16, 51-22, 68-36, 88-52.