by Jonas Terrado
Games Tuesday (JCSGO Gym, Cubao)
2 p.m. — Diliman vs Wangs
4 p.m. — Metropac-San Beda vs Trinity
Cignal-Ateneo clinched the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals after downing Che’Lu Bar & Grill, 102-88, in a testy PBA D-League affair at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao.
Thirdy Ravena delivered 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists to help the Blue Eagles finish the eliminations with an 8-1 record and secure a top two finish in the Aspirants Group.
Thirdy Ravena goes up for a shot. (PBA Images)
Ange Kouame turned in 18 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks and Adrian Wong scored 17 for Cignal-Ateneo in the match marred by a heated exchange between coach Tab Baldwin and Che'Lu cager Stephen Siruma.
The incident happened with 5:39 left when Cignal's Will Navarro and Che'Lu's Chris Dumapig entangled after a rebound play.
Jhaps Bautista scored 21 points and Philip Manalang produced 20 but Che'Lu dropped to a 3-3 record after a second straight defeat.
Earlier, Ironcon-University of Santo Tomas vented its ire on McDavid and cruised to a 111-90 victory over McDavid and inched closer to a quarterfinals berth.
Soulemane Chabi-yo produced 25 points and 15 rebounds while Marvin Lee posted 17 points and eight assists as the Growling Tigers nailed their fifth win in six outings for second place in the Aspirants Group.
Rhenz Abando and Brent Paraiso added 13 and 12 points, respectively, to put Ironcon-UST a win shy of securing a quarters berth with a 5-1 record.