Fiesta stretches streak to three

Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan is on a roll, notching its third straight win in the 3rd Annual Shirley’s Coffee Shop Invitational Basketball League after thwarting Shirley’s, 106-94, last Thursday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

Fiesta climbed up to solo third place in the eight-squad field after spending the first week of the Shirley’s caging at the bottom of the team standings, following a 0-2 start.

The 1-2 punch of Fiesta—Elmer Esdrelon and Ivan Devero—delivered another explosive games with the former sizzling for 35 points and the latter adding 27. Bruce Berline, who missed Fiesta’s first three matches, made up for his absence, contributing 18 and filling up the void left on offense by Jawn Joyner.

With Shirley’s failing to neutralize Esdrelon and Devero, the host dropped to a 0-4 record.

Esdrelon drilled 13 of his total points in the third quarter, turning a slim 49-48 lead to a 76-68 cushion. He hit two triples in the third and earlier canned three treys in the first period, which ended in a tight race, 27-25, in favor of Fiesta.

Esdrelon was then held to only a field goal in the final canto, but Devero and Berline were there to save the day for Fiesta. The duo combined for 20 points in the fourth period, helping Fiesta keep the lead and the win.

Kae Bernardo tried bringing Shirley’s back in the game in the payoff canto, as he logged 13 points in that period. However, he failed to do so, as he lacked support from his teammates. Only Bernardo drilled more than one field goal for Shirley’s in the fourth quarter. Errol Peredo and Wowie Abuel, who had already collected 18 and 12 points after the third quarter, was limited two one field goal apiece.

Peredo still top-scored for Shirley’s with 24. He waxed hot early, firing 14 points and trading baskets with Esdrelon in the first period to keep Shirley’s float. However, Peredo went cold in the three quarters, leaving Bernardo the sole responsibility of leading Shirley’s bid for the elusive first win.

In the first game of the night, Dan Barcinas reported back for duty and lifted DFS to a three-point win.

Barcinas, who did not play in DFS’ 78-95 loss to Mobil last week, returned to the court and scored a game-high 24 points. He, Jack Lizama, and Won Joo Jung combined for 19 points in the fourth quarter, as DFS outgunned Hyatt, 24-15, to steal the win.

DFS was behind at the end of the third quarter, 59-65, when Barcinas and company launched a comeback and successfully pulled off the close win. DFS improved to a 4-1 record for a share of second place with Mobil. Defending champion Pacific Islands Club/NVM leads the league with an unbeaten 4-0 slate, while Hyatt fell to seventh place with its 1-4 record.

Hyatt absorbed another loss despite controlling majority of the match. It took a 26-17 lead after the first period behind the eight-point production of Bernard Aquino. Hyatt then made it a 10-point advantage at the break, 47-37, as DFS failed to make headway in the second canto and only traded baskets with its foes.

In the third quarter, Hyatt was still in the driver’s seat, as only Jack Lizama converted multiple baskets for DFS. Lizama continued to hit his target in the fourth and this time he found an ally in Barcinas and Jung to complete the come-from-behind win.

DFS Galleria 83 – Barcinas 24, Lizama 18, Guiab 14, Jung 8, Rivera 7, Ngiraikelau 4, Johnson 4, Chavez 2, Rod 2.

Hyatt Regency Saipan 80 – Umali 17, Aquino 16, Devero 16, Alipio 10, Durant 8, Castro 8, Mateo 3, Ruelo 2.

Scoring by quarters: 17-26, 37-47, 59-65, 83-80.

Fiesta 106 – Esdrelon 35, Devero 27, Berline 18, Moises 11, Talania 9, Jinang 4, Ong 2.

Shirley’s 94 – Peredo 24, Bernardo 23, Abuel 14, De Dios 11, Barrios 7, Usi 7, Sedillo 3, Catungal 3, Drillon 3.

Scoring by quarters: 27-25, 49-48, 76-68, 106-94.