G-I, Sixers battle for Rotary supremacy

For the second year in a row, pennant champion Toyota-Garapan Rollers I will make an appearance in the finals of the 2006 Saipan Rotary Club Youth Basketball League.

And for the second straight year, G-I will be playing against a team from the south.

This, after the G-Rollers cruised past sister team G-Rollers II, 94-64, and the San Antonio Sixers edged the Chalan Kanoa Saints, 95-81, in the semifinals Wednesday evening at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The two G-Rollers teams were the first to step foot on the court, and initially, it seemed like the No. 5 G-II was going to stage another upset in the playoffs.

Coming off a victory the night before over No. 4 Southern Sonics, the G-II cagers picked up where they left off and stunned the pennant champions by coming out as the aggressors.

The push was enough to build an early 17-point advantage, forcing G-I coach Joe Diaz and his troops to regroup.

Determined not to come short of their goal of reaching the finals again, the G-Rollers I crew managed to return to their normal form and began to close in.

The team went on a big run, with Vince Teregeyo and Allen Moses leading the way. While the two were the ones punching in most of the points, not all the credit was given to them as the entire G-I crew pulled together defensively to shut down their opponents and turn the tide.

Moses and Teregeyo scored 15 and 11 points in the half, and by the break, the G-Rollers I erased their deficit and led by 15 points, 49-34.

The G-Rollers I continued to play pressure defense and began to pull away in the second half. Don Teregeyo tried his best to keep the G-II squad going, but despite scoring 16 points, Teregeyo and company were not able to keep up as the quick-moving G-I players dominated, showed no mercy, and secured a berth in the finals with the 30-point victory margin.

Moses led G-I with 25 points, while Jayvon Tarkong and Guy Mosley pumped in 17 and 12 points, respectively. Vince Teregeyo finished with 11 points.

Teregeyo led G-II with 17 points, while Anirut Tebuteb and Jericho Cruz each had 12 markers. Josh Moses also had 10 points.

Intensity picked up in the second game as the Sixers and Saints battled for the last finals slot. What made the bout interesting was that both teams have similar styles of play, with both enjoying the run-and-gun offense throughout the regular season.

Both team’s kept with their run-and-gun push, resulting in an electrifying match, with Saints guard L.J. Reyes and Sixers leader Preston Basa engaging in a scoring duel.

Reyes hit three early triples and scored 11 of his team’s first 13 points, and Basa had 10 points in the early goings as well, connecting for a couple of triples. The Sixers also got a huge lift from Ernest Duenas, who after being reinserted to the game, drove the lane and challenged the heart of the Saints’ defense three straight times to give his team a 34-27 lead.

Reyes responded by scoring seven points, but each time he made a bucket, the Sixers were able to respond and headed into the break with a seven-point edge, 53-56.

The Saints were able to close to within three points, 59-62, on a bucket by George Iglecias, but the Sixers came back with a 9-2 run in the next three minutes for a 71-61 lead midway through the half.

The Saints committed consecutive turnovers and the Sixers scored off of each to increase the lead, 75-61.

Just when it seemed the Sixers were going to run away with the win, the Saints put up another charge, going on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to eight, 67-75.

The Saints, however, were held scoreless for a while and the Sixers were able to restore their double-digit advantage.

The Saints put on one last push in the final minutes and came within six points, 81-87, with 1:25 remaining, but that was the last they mustered as Won Joo Jung hit a long jumper and Bill Babuata and Basa added icing on the cake with free throws and a bucket.

Babauta was money for the Sixers as he scored 21 points, while Basa and Duenas pumped in 20 and 19 points. Jung also had 12 points.

Reyes led the Saints with a game-high 28 points, while Josh Nakashima and Steve Kim added 16 points apiece.

The finals will be held this evening beginning at 6:30pm. G-II and the Saints will play for third place at 5pm. An awards ceremony will be held shortly after the championship game.

[B]First Game[/B] [B] G-I 94 [/B]– Moses 25, Tarkong 17, Mosley 12, Teregeyo 11, Tumaquip 6, Chariton 6, Naraja 4, Aldan 3, Mateo 2, Ada 2.
[B] G-II 64[/B] – Teregeyo 17, Cruz 12, Tebuteb 12, Moses 10, Ro. Salas 5, Tellei 3, Villegas 2.
[B] Scoring by halves:[/B] 49-24, 94-64.
[B] Referees:[/B] Noel Delos Santos and Jess Pacheco.
[B] Second Game[/B] [B]Sixers 95[/B] – Babauta 21, Basa 20, E. Duenas 19, Jung 12, Blas 6, Camacho 5, Pangelinan 4, M. Duenas 4, Maratita 2.
[B] Saints 81[/B] – L.J. Reyes 28, Nakashima 16, Kim 16, Lu. Reyes 7, G. Iglecias 4, La. Reyes 4, Manalo 4, Camacho 2.

[B]Scoring by halves:[/B] 53-46, 95-81.
[B] Referees:[/B] Arnold Mesa and Gilbert Espinosa.