Blue Haus, Saipan Ice bag last 2 playoff spots

Blue Haus’ Edwin Camacho slices through the defense of Maplas’ McLain Achas, left, and Edmark Mendoza during the third quarter of their knockout game in the DL Corp. caging last Saturday at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Saipan Ice got a free ride to the first round of the playoffs after Blue Haus dropped its last regular season game against Island Floral, 81-99, last Friday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. Blue Haus, Maplas, and Saipan Ice are tied for the seventh to ninth spots in the team standings with their similar 2-6 records and the latter won the tiebreak (points) to gain the seventh playoff ticket and leave the two other squads to battle for the eighth and last.

Blue Haus and Maplas squared off in a win-or-go-home match last Saturday with the former coasting to a 106-88 victory to catch the last bus to the playoff round.

Blue Haus got off to a jackrabbit start, leading at 33-6, and never looked back, withstanding Maplas’ repeated comeback bids. Maplas sliced the deficit to as low as 7 points, 67-74, in the opening minute of fourth canto, but Blue Haus put the game away with a 13-3 bomb, with 5:05 left in the match. Jesse Santos led the pivotal run, scoring 7 points in that spurt.

Santos also found his target early, drilling 8 in Blue Haus’ dominant showing in the first period. Four other Blue Haus players contributed at least 5 points each in the first canto, which ended with the team enjoying a 33-14 advantage.

Blue Haus hang on to the double-digit spread in the second, 57-47, as it continued to hit several outside shots. A buzzer-beating layup from Angelo Fernando cut the deficit to single digit in the third, 65-73, but Maplas failed to carry its momentum in the fourth to get the boot in the nine-team field.

With Blue Haus getting the last playoff seat, it forced a playoff game against No. 5-ranked Island Floral. The Blue Haus-Island Floral tiff was played in the first game last night, while Saipan Ice and Gliders collided in the second playoff match. Results of neither match were unavailable at press time. Winners of the two first round matches will advance to the quarterfinals and battle the Destroyers and TBK Mechanics for the last two semis tickets. Hite Jinro and San Antonio took the two automatic semis spots after finishing in the Top 2 in the regular season.

TBK placed third with its 4-4 record, beating the Destroyers, Gliders, and Island Floral in the tiebreak. The Destroyers had the same record and clinched a quarterfinals berth after routing the Gliders, 98-78, last Friday.

FRIDAY
First Game
Island Floral 99 – Norita 24, Bisana 24, Tabora 14, Tobias 12, Lizama 10, Capalad 9.

Blue Haus 81 – Talania 19, Barrios 18, Aquino 17, B. Camacho 15, Hernandez 8, Olivos 4.

Scoring by quarters: 23-14, 53-38, 74-57, 99-81.

Second Game
Destroyers 98 – Duenas 38, Esdrelon 28, Diaz 8, Fernandez 6, Santos 4, Gontar 4, Tengco 2, Corotan 2.

Gliders 78 – Estolas 19, J. Villanueva 15, Je. Villanueva 13, Palacios 13, Cadiang 8, Saturno 6, Cabrera 5.

Scoring by quarters: 19-14, 38-39, 65-53, 98-78.

SATURDAY
Blue Haus 106 – Barrios 28, Santos 25, Moises 15, E. Camacho 14, Talania 12, B. Camacho 7, Hernandez 2.

Maplas 88 – Fernando 32, Mendoza 18, M. Usi 13, R. Usi 9, Achas 8, Odicta 6, Aniciete 2.

Scoring by quarters: 33-14, 57-45, 73-65, 106-88.