Wag Kang Pabebe back to top spot

Wag Kang Pabebe joined Makalaro Lang anew to the top spot of the team standings in the 2015 Blue Haus/IT&E Inter-Color Basketball League after slipping past Hard Kulangot, 58-55, last Saturday at the Navy Hill court.

Hard Kulangot’s Marlon De Dios, right, and Wag Kang Pabebe’s Joseph Woodson battle for the rebound during the second half of their game in the Blue Haus-IT&E caging last Saturday at the Navy Hill court. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Wag Kang Pabebe matched Makalaro Lang’s 4-1 record to lead the nine-team field, while Hard Kulangot had its three-game winning streak snapped (3-2) and it dropped to third place behind Oh My J (3-1), pending results of yesterday’s pair of games.

Christian Devero top-scored for Wag Kang Pabebe with his 15 points, but it was Oscar Mina Jr.’s 4 markers that lifted the team to the 3-point win. Mina knocked in all his points from the foul line with the first two charities giving Wag Kang Pabebe a shaky 56-55 lead. He canned the pressure-packed free throws after drawing a foul on Marlou Ibanez with only four seconds left in their 24-second shot clock.

After Mina’s pair of free throws hit nothing but the net, Hard Kulangot sued for time to set up a possible game-winning basket with 26 seconds left in the game. Hard Kulangot crossed midcourt safely when the game resumed, but later lost possession when Ibanez’s bounced pass to J.R. Barrios from the right sideline hit the latter’s foot. Barrios chased the ball, which he picked up at the backcourt, forcing the referee to charge the former with a backing violation and give possession to Wag Kang Pabebe.

There was a lull after that crucial call, as Hard Kulangot players argued Mina partially touched the ball when Ibanez made the kick out before the leather hit Barrios. However, the official stood by his call and awarded possession to Wag Kang Pabebe with 15 seconds remaining on the clock.

With the time not on its side, Hard Kulangot gave up another foul on Mina, who went perfect anew from the 15-foot line to hand Wag Kang Pabebe a 3-point cushion. Wag Kang Pabebe hung on to the lead, as Hard Kulangot failed to produce in the ensuing play with Marlon De Dios’ daredevil drive missing the target and players were still battling for the rebound when the time expired.

Earlier under the one-minute mark of the match, De Dios split his charities to give Hard Kulangot a precarious lead, 55-54. Before De Dios’ free throw, Brendon Talania countered Barrios’s triple to force a deadlock, 54-all.

The important trey allowed Talania to finish the game in double figures (13 points). He recorded all of them in the second half to anchor Wag Kang Pabebe’s comeback bid. Wag Kang Pabebe was down as much as 7 points in the second half before Talania reported for the match past the halfway mark of the final frame. He announced his entry to the game with a triple and followed it up later with back-to-back layups before scoring 6 straight points in the final three minutes of the match, including the game-tying triple.

Joseph Woodson helped Wag Kang Pabebe’s cause, too, as he stepped up in absence of Talania in the first half, logging 8 points in that period and adding 6 more in the second.

Meanwhile, last Saturday’s second game between Purple Rain and Makalaro Lang along with the Friday pairing of Eh Di Wow and Pasion De Amor were suspended due to darkness and will resume on a later date. Partial results of these games will be reported in Saipan Tribune’s Tuesday issue.

Wag Kang Pabebe 58 – C. Devero 15, Woodson 14, Talania 13, J. Devero 6, Macoto 6, Mina 4.

Hard Kulangot 55 – Barrios 18, Ibanez 14, De Dios 9, Lontoc 6, Cultura 4, Garcia 3, Pollisco 2.

Scoring by halves: 25-24, 58-55.