Blue Haus, Auto Motion set title match

Blue Haus and Auto Motion eased their way to the Masters finale of the 2015 United Filipino Organization Basketball League after recording impressive wins over the weekend at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Auto Motion’s Ed Yalung goes up for a layup against LBT Appraisal’s Randy Mungcal, left, and Ed Pangelinan during the second quarter of their semis game in the Masters division of the UFO caging last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Blue Haus kept its unbeaten record this season and barged into the finals following a 66-54 victory over Armatech last Friday, while Auto Motion also cruised past LBT Appraisal, 95-72, last Saturday to claim the second championship ticket. The Blue Haus-Auto Motion title match will be played this Wednesday.

Auto Motion stunned the favored LBT Appraisal for the second straight time as the former got off to a strong start in their semis duel and sustained the momentum in the last three quarters after playing a balance offense. LBT Appraisal, on the other hand, had a bad shooting night and failed to find the right combination on the floor to launch a big comeback.

Ed Yalung led Auto Motion’s upset, knocking in 21 points off the bench. He came in late in the first quarter, which Auto Motion started with only six players, and scored 11 points, including an and-1 play that gave his team a promising 30-19 lead down to the closing seconds of the opening frame.

Auto Motion, behind the 3-point shooting of Mico Usi and Marlon Sison, widened the gap to as much as 18 points in second quarter, 40-22, before Randy Mungcal anchored a mini LBT rally to cut the deficit to single digit, 38-47. Mungcal scored 7 straight points in the 16-7 run and had 10 in the second quarter alone, but Robert Guiang countered with his own string of 7 markers to bring Auto Motion’s lead back to double figures at halftime, 52-38.

Auto Motion made it a an 18-0 spurt bridging the last two minutes of the second period and nearly the opening three minutes of the third with Joseph Galulu this time spearheading the surge and tallying 7 points for their huge 63-38 advantage.

It was all over for LBT Appraisal after that as the second finisher in the regular season continued to fire blanks. At one point in the fourth quarter, LBT muffed 10 straight shots, including four consecutive triples. It failed to hit a single shot from downtown in the entire game, while Auto Motion drained 10 with Sison’s back-to-back treys inside the two-minute mark putting the final nail on LBT’s coffin, 91-64.

Sison, Guiang, and Usi finished with 15 points apiece to backup Yalung, while Galulu and Art Montes also had twin digits with 13 and 10, respectively. Tabora recorded 19 points to lead LBT, while Mungcal chipped in 17. Ed Pangelinan and Jun Alipio contributed 7 each with the former scoring garbage points as he spent majority of the second half on the bench. Alex Ocampo was held scoreless for the first time this season.

In the first semis match, Blue Haus used a 13-0 run in the third quarter to break Armatech’s back and notched the easy win.

Armatech was still in the game after the first half, down by only 10, 27-37, before Blue Haus got a baker’s dozen in the first five minutes of the third period to pull away, 50-27. Six different players scored in Blue Haus’ pivotal run, which Haejun Park ended with a outback.

Blue Haus went on to close the third quarter with a 54-36 advantage and kept the safe distance in the fourth behind the multiple baskets of Edsel Mendoza. Mendoza paced Blue Haus with his 23 points. Bernard Montano had 24 for Armatech, which played without Martin Moreno and James Abuy.

Friday Game
Blue Haus 66 – Mendoza 23, Moises 16, Diaz 8, Guiab 7, Fernandez 4, Abuan 2, Santos 2, F. Palacios 2.

Armatech 54 – Montano 14, Gabaldon 11, Berline 10, Poquiz 6, Tobias 5, Bartolo 4, Park 2, Malasarte 1.

Scoring by quarters: 14-10, 37-27, 54-36, 66-54.

Saturday Game
Auto Motion 95 – Yalung 21, Sison 15, Guiang 15, Usi 15, Montes 10, Galulu 13, Balgos 2.

LBT Appraisal 7 – Tabora 18, Mungcal 17, De Guzman 10, Alipio 7, Pangelinan Catalla 5, Vargas 4, Sampang 2.

Scoring by quarters: 30-19, 52-38, 72-56, 95-72.