POSTED BY: Eurobasket Center
The 2nd BANMI Budweiser Cup had a thrilling start to the week as intense action continued at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium last Monday, March 1.
Taking center stage in the curtain raiser were the Diablo cagers, who worked relentlessly on both ends of the floor and staved off a late charge to beat the San Vicente Sunrisers, 96-90.
With the win, Diablo remained a half a game behind the APC Brothers and the Toyota Ol'Aces I in the league standings with a respectable 4-1 win-loss card.
Diablo got things started with a solid balance attack that overwhelmed the individual offensive effort of San Vicente cager Mark Wallace, who heated the net for 9 points. His work, however, was no match to the combined 29-point Diablo effort, 9 more than the entire Sunrisers' squad production in the first 10 minutes of play.
The Sunrisers finally began to roll the way they liked as they found ways to distract the Diablo offense, slowing their opponents down and limiting them to 17 points while closing in with a 22-point burst. Wallace again pumped in 9 points while slotman Jawn Joyner added 5 points as the San Vicente squad closed the gap to just two regular field goals at the break, 42-46.
Determined to hold their advantage, Diablo entered the second half with a higher level of aggression. The team would get well-played minutes from Aleric Aguon and George Masga, who spearheaded the attack with 8 and 6 points, enabling their squad to bring their lead back up to 9 points, 74-65.
The game hit higher gear in the fourth period as the Sunrisers refused to go down without a fight. Wallace and Joyner would again put up numbers offensively, and the team actually cut the deficit to 4 points with just seconds remaining on the clock courtesy of their pressure defense that forced costly turnovers.
Diablo, however, would recover in the nick of time to pull off the 6-point win.
Former National player Steve Rasa led Diablo with 19 points while Masga, Aguon, and John Sablan supported with 16 points apiece. Ponce Rasa also added 10 points.
Wallace finished with a game-high 32 points while Joyner sizzled for 18 points for the Sunrisers, who dropped their fourth game in five chances. Jeff Quitugua and Jess Castro also chipped in with 12 points each.
Diablo 96-S. Rasa 19, Masga 16, Aguon 16, Jo. Sablan 16, P. Rasa 10, D. Sablan 7, Je. Sablan 4, Wesley 4, Camacho 2, Villanueva 2.
Sunrisers 90-Wallace 32, Joyner 18, J. Quitugua 12, Castro 12, Peters 4, Tudela 3, Jesse 3, John 2, Aaron 2, R. Quitugua 2.
Scoring by quarters: 29-20, 46-42, 74-65, 96-90.
In the second game, Lebwel kept the Ol'Aces II winless after nailing clutch shots down the stretch of their match to leave with a nail-biting 78-76 victory.
The Ol'Aces II seemed to be in control after posting a 10-point lead after the first quarter, 24-14, but Lebwel pushed harder in the second to pull themselves back in contention and within 2 points at the break, 35-37.
The two teams matched up point-for-point in the third quarter, resulting in the Ol'Aces II holding the slim lead at the start of the fourth, 57-55, but Lebwel took advantage of a slow transition defense and regained the lead mid-way through.
Ben Pelisamen, Ryan Camacho, and Taula Peter would all go berserk in the quick-tempo style of play and knock in 7 points apiece in the late moments of the game to propel their team to victory.
Randy Pelisamen led Lebwel with 19 points while Camacho and Peter finished with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Ben Pelisamen also scored in double-figures with 14 points.
Joe Chong topped all scorers behind his smooth perimeter shooting performance, going off for 22 points while James Lee and Mike Olaitiman punched in 14 and 13 points for the Ol'Aces II, who have dropped their first five games.
Results of last night's matches weren't available as of press time. League action continues tomorrow as Lebwel takes on the Kagman Cougars
