Ol’Aces vs Armatech for U20 crown

The Ol’Aces and Armatech will dispute the championship in the U20 division of the 2015 United Filipino Organization Basketball League following their respective semis wins over the weekend at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The Ol’Aces arranged a finals showdown with Armatech after outclassing the depleted Sonics, 69-48, in last Saturday’s second semis match. In the first Final Four game last Friday, Armatech also eased past Blue Haus, 86-71.

Jonathan and Jesse Santos combined for more than half of the Ol’Aces’ total production to lift their team against the Sonics, who topped the regular season but faltered on their finals bid after they were down to only four players with still 5:09 left in third period.

The Ol’Aces’ Jonathan Santos goes up for an acrobatic shot against the Sonics’ Jack Aranda during the third quarter of their semis game in the U20 division of the UFO caging last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Sonics lost wingman Jaymark De Guzman, who was called for his fifth foul for reaching in against Andrew Palino. In was a useless foul, as the Ol’Aces did not have the numbers and Palino was just past midcourt after receiving a pass from Jason Lampkin. The Sonics were behind by only 4, 28-32, when De Guzman committed the costly foul.

The Sonics managed to bring down the deficit to single-digit in the third after trailing by as much as 14 in the first quarter, 4-18. The Ol’Aces had the early upper hand in the battle of short-handed crews with their starting five getting their acts together to outgun the Sonics. Both teams had only five players each at the start of the match before Nak Nakashima reported for duty for the Ol’Aces in third period.

The third canto ended with the Sonics still in the game, 32-44, and even moved to within 7, 39-46, in the opening minutes of the final frame before the Ol’Aces capitalized on the former’s lack of defenders. Jonathan and Jesse Santos alternately delivered the killer blows for the Ol’Aces in the fourth en route to their 21-point winning margin.

Meanwhile, in the first semis match last Friday, Armatech also had a depleted roster, but managed to pull it through with a strong start.

Armatech, which began the match with five players, doubled up Blue Haus in the first period, 22-11, and stretched the advantage to 17 at the break, 41-24, to build enough cushion against the repeated comeback bids of Blue Haus in the second half.

Jun Fidelino, Mike Espinosa, and Jethro Cruz combined for 26 points in the first half to set the stage for Armatech’s easy win. Espinosa went on to top-score for Armatech with his 20 points, 15 of them came from downtown, while Cruz and Fidelino chipped in 18 and 15, respectively. Kobee Mendoza and Melvin Deocares also finished in twin digits with 12 and 10, while Antonino Santos, who came late in the first half, contributed 4 before fouling out.

Borja paced Blue Haus with his 26 points and had a highlight dunk in the first half.

Friday Game

Armatech 86 – Espinosa 20, Cruz 18, Fidelino 15, Mendoza 12, Deocares 10, Santos 4.

Blue Haus 71 – Borja 26, Kwon 11, Malonzo 10, Factor 7, Gilles 6, Manalili 2.

Scoring by quarters: 22-11, 41-24, 60-48, 86-71.

Saturday Game

Ol’Aces 69 – Jo. Santos 22, Je. Santos 21, Palino 12, Yu 4, Nakashima 4, Lampkin 6.

Sonics 48 – De Guzman 13, Rabasto 11, Aranda 11, Dela Rosa 7, Tekopua 6.

Scoring by quarters: 22-12, 28-21, 44-32, 69-48.