Tan Holdings Basketball Classic resumes

Dream Team’s Ignacio Borja, center, is clobbered by Kagman Risers’ Jesse Santos, right, and Allan Yu during their game in the boys U19 division of the 2014 Tan Holdings Basketball Classic last Monday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Back-to-back triple headers will take place tonight and tomorrow at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium as participating teams in the boys U19 and women’s open divisions aim to boost their playoff bids. Only the Top 4 finishers in the six-team women’s field and eight-squad boys division will make the cut.

In the women’s division, the leading Armatech, which won its first three games, hopes to extend its run when it takes on Sun Palace this Saturday at 8pm. Sun Palace, on the other hand, will try to end its three-game slide.

In the two other women’s division matches tomorrow, Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan will challenge Kanoa Resort at 5:30pm, while Shirley’s Coffee Shop will duel IT&E at 7pm. Fiesta (2-1) attempts to bounce back from a 40-49 loss to Armatech, while Kanoa tries to improve its 1-3 record after dropping back-to-back games before the holiday break. Shirley’s Coffee Shop (2-1) will gun for its third straight victory after dropping its opener to Armatech, while IT&E goes for its second consecutive triumph after barging into the win column last Saturday, following a 46-23 rout of Kanoa Resort.

In the boys division, Dream Team and Rollers 2 are tied for the lead with similar 2-0 records.

Dream Team gained its second win in as many games after pulling off a come-from-behind 84-79 victory over Kagman Risers (0-2) last Monday. The co-leader registered its first win against Rollers 3, 84-50, during the league’s opening day last month.

In their second assignment, Dream Team was behind by 10 points at halftime, 28-38, but battled back in the second half with Ignacio Borja, Shane Deleon Guerrero, and Dixon Kwon teaming up in the final 20 minutes of play.

In the other boys division match last Monday, Rollers 2 showed no love lost to sister team Rollers 3, cruising to a 57-45 victory.

Rollers 2 will take a break this weekend and give way to another sister squad, Rollers 1, which will also gun for a 2-0 slate when it meets the 670 Sonics (1-0) in the nightcap at 8pm. In the first boys division tiff, the winless Sun Palace Hotel and Ol’Aces (0-1) will collide at 5:30pm, while in the lone women’s division game at 7pm, IT&E faces Sun Palace.

Meanwhile, after this weekend’s games, the league will switch to new play dates with the remaining matches scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.