THE Hapee Fresh Fighters and the Café France Bakers drew first blood yesterday in their respective PBA D-League Foundation Cup semifinals series at the Ynares Arena in Pasig.
The undermanned Hapee took advantage of the absence of Cebuana Lhuillier star Moala Tautaa in the second half to register an 82-71 victory in Game 1 of their best-of-three series.
In the second game, the Bakers also imposed their will and gained a 78-65 victory over the Cagayan-Gerry’s Rising Suns.
The Fresh Fighters played without Baser Amer, Troy Rosario, and Scottie Thompson who are playing for the Gilas Cadets in the ongoing SEA Games in Singapore as well as Bobby Ray Parks who is in the United States and the injured Garvo Lanete.
But in spite of all that, the Fresh Fighters kept on chugging along behind outstanding numbers by Ola Adeogun who had 25 points and 14 rebounds and Art dela Cruz who added 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. A win on Thursday will place Hapee in the finals for the second straight conference.