KB Market gets first win, beat Hoops Islander

KB Market snapped its three-game losing streak after outclassing Hoops Islander, 81-76, in their open division game in the 2015 San Antonio Community Action Network Basketball League last Friday night at the San Antonio court.

KB Market’s Preston Basa, right, stands his ground against a driving Prince Factor of Hoops Islander during the second quarter of their open division game in the San Antonio caging last Friday at the San Antonio court. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

KB Market’s first victory in the inaugural league was not assured until the last 14.3 seconds of the close match after Ivan Devero made a point-blanked shot off a helter-skelter play and Alex Lauron faltered in a 3-point attempt in the ensuing play.

The win would have come earlier if not for KB Market’s free throw woes. It went 1-for-9 from the foul line in the last two minutes of the match with Nate Mateo going 1-for-7 and Matt Duenas muffing both his charities.

Mateo nailed his lone free throw on his first trip to the line after he fished for a foul from Lauron with the 24-second shot clock almost down and the Islander was within 2 points, 76-78. Mateo missed his next two free throws and four more later, but fortunately for KB Market the Islander committed crucial turnovers in its succeeding offensive sets.

The first error came when Irvyn Malonzo’s bounce pass to Lauron off a pick-and-roll play was intercepted by Mateo, who then drew an unsportsmanlike foul from Jerry Diaz after trying to go for a breakaway play. Mateo trooped to the 15-foot line and went 0-for-2, but KB Market still had possession due to Diaz’s infraction, 53.5 seconds remaining on the clock.

KB Market failed to produce a basket in the extra possession, but got the leather back when Kevin Fitial’s pass to Prince Factor was intercepted by Leo Galarse. KB Market then used several seconds from the clock before attacking the Islander’s defense with Mateo again getting fouled and missing two more charities.

The Islander secured the rebound after the miss and this time managed to bring the leather down to its frontcourt, but Fitial fumbled when he drove to the lane, while Devero picked up the loose ball. Devero also had butterfingers, as he momentarily lost the leather while dribbling away from traffic. The KB Market managed to recover the loose ball and pass it to Edwin Santos at the right wing and the latter kicked the ball back to Devero who pulled up for a banked shot to make it a two-possession lead, 81-76.

The Islander then quickly pushed the ball to its frontcourt and Lauron attempted a triple, which hit nothing but the board. KB Market got the rebound and ran down the clock to finally enter the win column in the East Group.

The Islander dropped to a 1-1 slate, wasting a 9-point lead in third quarter of their rain-suspended match that was first played during the league’s opening day on Oct. 3. The game resumed with Islander hanging in to a 39-38 lead, 2:58 to go in the first half, and it stretched the advantage to as much as 9 points midway in the third, 52-43, before KB Market moved within four, 60-64, entering the final canto. It was a nip-and-tuck game in the final period with KB Market getting the needed breaks in the end to notch its first win.

Meanwhile, the other open division game last Friday was rained-out with Triple J on top against MJD Enterprise, 20-18, 7:07 left in the second quarter.

Ferrera 71, Armatech 60
In the open division pairing last Thursday, Ferrera Builders also earned its first victory in three games after downing Armatech.

Ferrera recovered from a slow start en route to the double-digit winning margin against Armatech (0-2).

Ferrera faced a 13-16 deficit at the end of the first canto, but turned the tables on Armatech in the second, building a 35-29 cushion. J.R. Mina helped Ferrera grabbed the upper hand in the second quarter after scoring 8 points, including the team’s last 6 markers.

The rest of Mina’s teammates picked up the cudgels for Ferrera in the second half to protect the driver’s seat and hand Armatech its second straight loss.

Judith’s Warriors 79, Sonics 75
Judith’s Warriors pulled off a come-from-behind win against the Sonics in the U18 pairing last Thursday.

Down by 4 after the third canto, 49-54, Judith’s Warriors leaned on the early baskets of Mike Arciaga and Gerald Flores and the late field goals of Sto. Domingo and Mike Muna to eke out a 4-point victory against the Sonics.

Arciaga scored three of Judith’s Warriors’ first four baskets in the fourth and had 9 markers in that period alone, while Flores contributed 6. Ronnie Sto. Domingo and Muna, on the other hand, combined for four of Judith’s Warriors’ last five field goals that sealed the win for the team.

While Judith’s Warriors got multiple baskets from four players, only Art Borromeo knocked in more than one field goal for the Sonics in the payoff canto.