Dollar Days clinches title

KFC/Taco Bell had a nightmare Saturday night and when it woke up, it was too late, as Dollar Days was already counting on its winnings.

Capitalizing on KFC/Taco Bell’s misfortunes for almost the entire night, Dollar Days won the deciding Game 3 of their title series at the jampacked Garapan Basketball Court, 97-83, to gain the championship in the 2009 Navy Hill Friendship Basketball League.

Dollar Days went to its winning formula in Game 1, attacking early and taking a big 14- point lead at the end of the first period, 31-17. Dollar Days led by 15 (32-17) in the first quarter of its 119-111 overtime win in Game 1. In Game 2, KFC/Taco Bell had the lead, 29-28, after the first 10 minutes of play, and it went on to win the match, 104-101, after neutralizing Wowie Abuel.

In Game 3, Dollar Days’ returned the favor, as it harassed KFC/Taco Bell gunner Bonbon Cadagat. After scoring 25 markers in Game 2, Cadagat had a tough day in the office in Game 3, as he was without a fieldgoal and was held to four free throws in the first three quarters before coming up with a too-late surge in the fourth, firing 11 points.

Cadagat’s lackluster game rubbed off his teammates. Tumaquip, who nailed 13 points and had two triples in Game 2, had to bleed for points. He was without a triple and made only nine markers before fouling out in the last 4:09 of the game. Lerio, who finished with 20 points in Game 2, was held to two charities and missed all his five attempts from downtown in the first half before hitting three in the second half en route to a 16-point output. Big men Melvin Capalad and Larry Palero, who canned clutch baskets in Game 2, were non-factors in Game 3 with the former getting injured in the second quarter and the latter making only two points.

With Cadagat and company struggling, Dollar Days increased the lead to 18 at halftime, 52-34. KFC/Taco Bell made a little headway in the early part of the third canto, cutting the lead to 13, 43-56. But Dollar Days found ways to halt KFC/Taco Bell’s rally, nailing several baskets with a few seconds left in the 24-second shot clock, getting loose balls, and making defensive stops to end the third canto with a 79-56 lead.

Dollar Days had its biggest lead at 79-51 early in the final canto before Cadagat anchored a KFC/Taco Bell run, scoring six straight points to cut the lead to 11, 71-82, with 6:34 left in the game.

But it was simply not KFC/Taco Bell’s night, as Bart Demapan made five straight points to widen the gap, 88-74, going into the last three minutes of the game.

The next two plays capped KFC/Taco Bell’s frustrating night, as JR Concepcion was momentarily open for a layup, but was blocked by Ivan De Vero. Dollar Days pushed the ball up before Concepcion stole the leather and passed it to Quincy Johnson, who struggled to catch it from the left sideline of Dollar Days’ front court. Johnson was able to throw the ball to Cadagat before losing his footing, but the latter could not save it from going out of the right sideline.

On the other end, basketball seemed easy for Dollar Days, as Abuel and Demapan teamed up for a pick and roll play on top of the key with the latter on the finishing end, making a jumper near the foul line.

When league volunteer Badong Camacho announced that the game was entering the last two-minute mark, Dollar Days’ players and supporters began to celebrate.

Finals

Dollar Days 97 – De Vero 25, Demapan 21, Abuel 14, Bernardo 14, Tamayo 9, Pantaleon 9, Galvez 6, Siriban 2.

KFC/Taco Bell 83 – Lerio 16, Cadagat 15, Itaas 10, Concepcion 10, Tumaquip 9, Norita 8, Johnson 7, Jugos 3, Capalad 3, Palero 2.

Scoring by quarters: 31-17, 52-34, 79-56, 97-83.