MANILA, Philippines – Racal strengthened its grip on the top spot of the standings in the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup after a difficult 89-84 victory over Wangs Basketball on Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Kent Salado took charge late, firing eight of the Tile Masters's final 14 points to help his side surge to a five-point lead and ultimately fend off the Couriers.

Salado finished with 14 points, two rebounds, and two assists to help Racal climb to 4-0 in the tournament.

"I warned them not to take Wangs for granted," said coach Jerry Codiñera. "Hirap na hirap kami sa kanila."

• READ: Tanduay, Cafe France score separate convincing victories

Jackson Corpuz had 18 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. His efforts kept the Tile Masters afloat in the back-and-forth contest for the first three-and-a half quarters, before Salado took charge in crunch time.

Sidney Onwubere finished with 10 points and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, Rey Publico got 16 points and six rebounds, while Marlon Gomez finished with 14 points and seven boards. Wangs absorbed its third straight loss to fall to 1-3.

In the second game, Café France rose to joint second place after pummeling Jose Rizal University (JRU), 75-57.

With their veterans leading the way, the Bakers used a 17-2 run in the third quarter to run a 38-36 halftime advantage into a commanding 55-38 lead.

The lead ballooned to 21, 73-52, with 1:53 to go after Aaron Jeruta's three free throws.

"The difference is our approach. We mostly tried to give chances to our rookies, but the disadvantage there is they had a hard time adjusting. It's a good thing our veterans stepped up," said coach Egay Macaraya.

Rod Ebondo missed out on a double-double but still finished with 21 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks. Paul Desiderio had 13 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in the win.

Café France improved to 3-1, tying Tanduay at No. 2.

JRU, for its part, lost for the second straight game to drop to 2-2. Jhaps Bautista led the Heavy Bombers with 13 points and eight rebounds.

The scores:

First game:

RACAL 89 - Corpuz 18, Salado 14, Onwubere 10, Nambatac 9, Mangahas 8, Dagangon 6, Cabrera 5, Gabayni 5, Torres 5, Gabawan 3, Terso 3, Flores 2, Gumaru 1, Apreku 0.

WANGS 84 - Publico 16, M. Gomez 14, Tambeling 13, Labing-isa 10, Brana 8, Enriquez 6, Salcedo 6, Tayongtong 5, Montuano 3, Regalado 2, C. Gomez 1, Juruena 0, King 0.

Quarters: 21-13, 43-43, 66-64, 89-84.

Second game:

CAFE FRANCE 75 - Ebondo 21, Desiderio 13, Casino 7, Calisaan 6, Gabriel 5, Jeruta 5, Veron 5, Faundo 4, Arim 3, Manlangit 2, Wamar 2, Aquino 0, Guinitaran 0.

JRU 57 - Bautista 13, Poutouochi 12, Pontejos 11, Grospe 9, Teodoro 4, Bordon 3, Lasquety 2, Santos 2, Sawat 1, Estrella 0, Lopez 0, Mate 0.

Quarters: 16-19, 38-36, 55-45, 75-57.

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