Blowout wins for Ol’Aces, Blue Haus

Blue Haus’ Edsel Mendoza tries to power his way past the defense of the Old’Aces’ Junior Renguul during the second quarter of their game in the Masters division of the UFO caging last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Blue Haus and the Ol’Aces eased past their respective opponents in the 2015 United Filipino Organization Basketball League last Saturday night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Blue Haus defeated the Old’Aces, 86-69, to take the early lead in the Masters division as the former improved to a 2-0 record. In the U20 division, the Ol’Aces bounced back from their opening loss to the Sonics with a 130-38 thrashing of Gilas (0-2).

The Masters division leader recovered from a slow start, as it turned a 14-15 deficit to a 38-28 halftime edge after capitalizing on the Old’Aces’ failure to challenge Blue Haus’ transition game. Ernie Moises and Edsel Mendoza scored on a couple of fastbreak plays in the second period to give Blue Haus a double-digit lead.

Blue Haus kept its safe distance in the third canto with Mendoza still having the hot hands, adding 8 more points and the rest of his teammates backing him up. Blue Haus increased its lead to 12 at the end of the third frame and countered the Old’Aces baskets in the fourth for the easy win.

Moises top-scored for Blue Haus with his 22 points, while Mendoza added 19. Three other Blue Haus players also finished in double figures with Tony Diaz contributing 13 and Matt Buenabajo and Junar Guiab registering 11 and 10, respectively.

Peter Camacho paced the Old’Aces with his 24 points, while Elias Rangamar chipped in 17.

In the second game, it was all over right at the end of the first quarter with the Ol’Aces enjoying a whopping 35-point lead, 41-6.

The Ol’Aces’ rousing start made it impossible for the young Gilas crew to cut the deficit to a decent number. Jesse Santos starred in the Ol’Aces’ run at the get-go, dropping 17 points in the first 10 minutes of play and knocking in three triples.

Gilas was held to three field goals in the first canto off Ryan Esmundo’s pair of baskets and Lawrence Diyco’s deuce. Gilas offensive misfortunes continued in the second period as it was limited to 4 points, while the Ol’Aces kept pouring in points to take a huge 74-10 halftime edge.

With the Ol’Aces’ well-oiled offense, seven of their players scored in twin digits with Jesse Santos leading the way, tallying 25. Esmundo was the lone double figure scorer for Gilas with his 12 points.

First Game
Blue Haus 86 – Moises 22, Mendoza 19, Diaz 13, Buenabajo 11, Guiab 10, Factor 6, Santos 4.

Old’Aces 69 – Camacho 24, Rangamar 17, Renguul 14, Stole 8, Luzama 2.

Scoring by quarters: 14-15, 38-28, 60-48, 86-69.

Second Game
Ol’Aces 130 – Je. Santos 25, Jo. Santos 18, Palino 14, Dizon 12, Muna 11, Lampkin 10, Jones 10, Yu 7, Nakashima 6.

Gilas 38 – Esmundo 12, Bondoc 8, Rangamar 5, Salalila 5, Diyco 4, Domingo 2, Espinosa 1, Bahillo 1.

Scoring by quarters: 41-6, 74-10, 97-21, 130-38.