Armatech, Boomers waltz past foes

Armatech and Boomers won their last game in the regular season of the 2015 Graphics Invitational Masters Basketball League last Wednesday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

Armatech’s Rommel Bartolo pulls up for an open jumper during the closing seconds of their game against KB Hite in the 2015 Graphics Invitational Masters Basketball League last Wednesday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Boomers finally barged into the win column following its 68-52 victory over the Slashers in the first match, while Armatech also earned a double-digit winning margin over KB Hite, 90-68, in the last game.

Armatech finished the round-robin competition with a second-best 5-1 record, while Boomers ended up with a 1-5 card. The Slashers fell to a 1-4 record and could tie Boomers and Saipan Warriors (1-5) for the fifth to seventh spot if they lose to Bammy’s Restaurant tonight in the last game of the regular season. The loser in the possible three-team tiebreak will face No. 2 rank Armatech in the playoffs, while other pairings are No. 3 vs 6 and No. 4 vs 5. KB Kite (3-3) is likely to slide to No. 4 even if Bammy’s (3-2) drops its game as the latter beat the former in their Feb. 4 match.

The Boomers avoided the cellar for now as they took control of their last game right from the start. They built an 8-point cushion after the first, 20-12, and slowly increased their lead in the last three quarters to snap their five-game losing skid.

Dennis Cortez top-scored for the Boomers for the third straight time with his 18 points, while Dindo Pablo chipped in 17. Sonny Ebuen had 16 for the Slashers, who have lost their last three games.

In the second tiff, Armatech won their final four matches and all were lopsided.

Against KB Hite, Armatech blew the game wide open in the second period, turning a 17-12 lead to a 49-29 halftime edge.

James Abuy anchored the breakaway, scoring 12 points with all of them coming from beyond the arc. He capped the second-quarter spurt with back-to-back triples and also nailed 9 of Armatech’s last 10 markers. Abuy finished with 16 points, matching Yosh Gabaldon’s output.

Gabaldon took over from Abuy in the third period, burying two treys and scoring 10 in that quarter, which ended with Armatech way ahead, 74-47.

First Game
Boomers 68 – Cortez 18, Pablo 17, Anasan 8, Echavez 6, Joson 4, Salazar 4, Usi 2.

Slashers 52 – S. Ebuen 16, Abadilla 8, Tengco 8, De Jesus 5, Tibayan 4, Leong 4, O. Ebuen 3, Alvarez 3.

Scoring by quarters: 20-12, 38-25, 54-40, 68-52.

Second Game
Armatech 90 – Gabaldon 16, Abuy 16, Park 10, Berline 9, Bartolo 6, Poquiz 6, Tobias 6, Montano 6, Manalili 5, Gatdula 4.

KB Hite 68 – Mungcal 23, Cosino 20, Sison 9, Pineda 4, Verano 3, Montes 3, Plinske 3, Pangelinan 1, Koebel 1.

Scoring by quarters: 17-12, 49-29, 74-47, 90-68.