Hula Girls sweeps preliminary games

Hula Girls kept its undefeated record in preliminary round of the 2013 Sun Palace Christmas Basketball Tournament after dominating the Wrecking Balls, 62-46, last Wednesday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

Hula Girls finished the round-robin competition with a perfect 6-0 mark and faces the last ranked Tappers (1-5) in the first semis match tonight at 5:30pm. In the second and last semis pairing at 6:30pm, the second-ranked Wrecking Balls (4-2) takes on No. 3 Futball (1-5).

Jan Travilla and Friendly Joy Pena teamed up in giving Hula Girls a flawless record, as they scored 21 and 17 points, respectively. Travilla fired three triples in the first half and had 11 points in the opening frame, while Pena connected two shots from beyond the arc and added another field goal to power Hula Girls to a 31-19 advantage at the break.

Hula Girls never relinquished the double-digit margin in the second half despite the arrival of Wrecking Balls’ Rachel Abrams. Abrams scored 10 points in the final frame, but her contribution was offset by the combined output (19) of Travilla and Pena. Travilla knocked in two more treys in the second half, while Pena drilled three of Hula Girls’ last four field goals.

Rollers 4 63, Rollers 5 52
In the boys division game, the depleted crew of Rollers 4 prevailed against Rollers 5.
Rollers 4 played with only four players, but still managed to take the 11-point win to improve its record to 3-4 and remain in the hunt for the playoff berth. Only the Top 4 teams after the double-round robin elimination will advance to the playoffs and Rollers 4 is in a tie for fourth place with FTMP, behind co-leaders Rollers 2 (6-1) and Rollers 3 (6-1) and Rollers 1 (5-1).

All four players for Rollers 4 broke into double figures to hand Rollers 5 its sixth loss in as many games. Jonathan Sagun had 20 points, Marlek Toves chipped in 17 and Warren Ellama and Vince Iba added 13 each.

Rollers 3 71, FTMP 58
In the other game in the boys division, Rollers 3 went all out in the second half en route to the 13-point win over FTMP.

Ahead by only a hair at halftime, 21-20, Rollers 3 exploded for 50 points in the second half for the easy victory. Rollers 3 drew at least 6 points apiece from four different players in the second half to turn a close game to a double-digit winning margin. Jethro Cruz led the second-quarter assault, drilling all his 10 points in that period.

Rollers 3 connected on five triples in the second half against only one from FTMP, which relied heavily on Tristan Montes.

First Game
Rollers 4 63 –Sagun 20, Toves 17, Ellama 13, Iba 13.
Rollers 5 52 – Alonzo 12, Caracut 9, Ogumoro 8, Yu 8, Cobacha 6, Tengco 4, Pangelinan 2.
Scoring by halves: 30-27, 63-52.

Second Game
Hula Girls 62 – Travilla 21, Pena 17, M. Kautz 10, I. Palero 4, Pagarao 3, J.Palero 2.
Wrecking Balls 46 – Ito 14, Abrams 10, Williams 8, R. Kautz 5, Reyes 5, Lebria 3, Alegre 2.
Scoring by halves: 32-19, 62-46.

Third Game
Rollers 3 60 – Francisco 13, Rios 12, Cruz 9, Morales 9, Alipio 8, Amog 7, Factor 6, De Luna 4, Dancoe 2.
FTMP 58 – Montes 29, A. Francisco 15, Omengkar 10, Asistores 3, Sanarez 2.
Scoring by halves: 21-20, 71-58.