Hoops rally past Ali’i Konflikt

The UPAA/Docomo Hoopaholics found their way out of the woods again, pulling off a 78-75 victory over MAFEA/ Ali’i Konflikt on Thursday night in the UFO Inter-Organization Basketball Friendship League 2011 Bud Cup at the TSL Sports Complex.

The Hoops took the win after climbing back from an 11-point deficit at the start of the fourth period. The Hoops nailed their third straight triumph, all were off come-from-behind fashions, and are now in solo second place behind undefeated Proa (3-0) with their 3-1 record. Ali’i Konflikt had its two-game winning streak snapped and dropped to a 2-3 slate.

Ali’i Konflikt boosted its chances to extend the winning run to three when Edmark Mendoza started the fourth canto with a basket off an alley-oop pass from Elmer Esdrelon and gave MAFEA its biggest lead, 65-54.

However, after that impressive play, things started to fall apart for Ali’i Konflikt, while the Hoops successfully worked their way back into the game.

James Villacrusis scored five straight points, while Dave Sablan canned back-to-back triples to lead the Hoops’ rally. Sablan’s second triple put the Hoops back in the driver’s seat, 67-65, with 6:25 left on the clock.

The Hoops hung in there, as Kelvin Fitial and John Sablan hit clutch jumpers and they played good perimeter defense. Ali’i Konflikt completely collapsed, missing shots from both inside and out, as it was a bit tentative on its offense with the Hoops defenders challenging every attempt.

Fitial’s triple with the 24-second shot clock ticking away gave the Hoops their biggest lead, 76-69, 2:30 to go in the match.

Mendoza made a layup and drew a foul to keep Ali’i Konflikt’s hopes alive, 71-76. He missed the bonus shot and Elmer Esdrelon got the offensive board and went for a putback but faltered, too. Ali’i Konflikt collared two more offensive rebounds, but Mendoza and Joyner also muffed their shots.

A traveling violation on Fitial returned possession to Ali’i Konflikt, but Brandon Talania also had an error when he failed to catch Jomary Tumaquip’s pass. The Hoops regained the leather and Villacrusis hurriedly drove to the baseline, but fumbled against the defense of Esdrelon. Fortunately for the Hoops, the ball hit Esdrelon last before it went out.

Then, John Sablan drilled a baseline jumper to up the Hoops’ lead to seven anew, 78-71, with less than a minute left on the clock. Ali’i Konflikt nailed two straight baskets off an error and missed shots from Hoops to stay alive, 75-78, 16.7 seconds to go. Ali’i Konflikt opted for two-pointers in the ensuing plays, as Hoops defenders extended their defense.

The Hoops committed another miscue, but Ali’i Konflikt countered with its own error, as Esdrelon dribbled out of traffic and the ball accidentally hit the foot of a Hoops player. Fitial recovered the loose ball and drew an unsportsmanlike foul from Joyner.

Fitial muffed both charities. The Hoops still had possession with 10.6 seconds left due to the infraction, but Fitial lost it after the inbound with Joyner swiping the ball. Joyner completed the steal then went on to pull up for a desperation trey and missed. James Lee grabbed the rebound, was fouled with .9 of a second left, and missed both free throws.

Dave Sablan paced the Hoops with 21 points, while Fitial added 18. Mendoza led Ali’i Konflikt with his 13 markers. Ivan De Vero finished with 12 points, a far cry from his 27-point output against Mobil, as he and Joyner, who scored 11, struggled all night. Esdrelon also had a tough night, making only 10, none in the final canto.

The Hoops and Ali’i Konflikt were pretty even in the first half with the latter leading by only three, 22-19, at the end of the opening quarter. Then the match was back to square one after the first half, 38-all. Ali’i Konflikt and the Hoops continued their nip-and-tuck game in the third until the former had an 11-4 windup in the last four and a half minutes of that quarter for a 63-54 lead.

Then in the fourth canto, Hoops proved it could eke out another comeback win just like what they did against Cavite/Andok’s and Cabalen.

[B]UPAA/Hoopaholics 78[/B] – D. Sablan 21, Fitial 18, Diaz 7, Villacrusis 7, Lee 6, Mendez 6, J. Sablan 4, Villagomez 4.

[B]MAFEA/Ali’i Konflikt 75[/B] – Mendoza 13, De Vero 12, Joyner 11, Esdrelon 10, Guiab 8, Talania 6, Tumaquip 4, Aquino 2.

[B]Scoring by quarters:[/B] 19-22, 38-38, 63-54, 78-75.