Green Minded, Spigen top foes

Green Minded’s Roberto Dela Cruz, left, unloads a running shot in front of Team Sawi’s J.R. Concepcion during the fourth quarter of their game in the IT&E/Blue Haus caging last Sunday at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Spigen and Green Minded earned contrasting victories in their debuts in the 2nd Invitational IT&E/Blue Haus Friendly Basketball League last Sunday at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

Spigen withstood White Haus’ fourth-quarter rally for an 89-82 win in the first game, while Green Minded coasted past Team Sawi in the second match, 86-62.

White Haus, which led in the first half, found itself staring a 59-71 deficit at the end of the third quarter, forcing the team to fight back in the fourth behind Darwin Barbo and Jun Tabora’s baskets. However, Spigen steadied the ship in the homestretch by knocking down clutch free throws.

Spigen scored its last 5 markers from the 15-footline with Mike Umali making four of them and Lerio Pagarao having a split. Pagarao ended up tallying 7 points in the final canto, while Umali had 9 to foil White Haus’ comeback bid.

Umali also led Spigen’s offense in the pivotal third period, which started with his squad behind, 35-40. Umali registered 12 points in the penultimate frame to lift Spigen to an 11-point advantage, entering the final canto. Dick Tibayan, Robert Sanciangco, and Bruce Berline helped out in the third-quarter turnaround, too, combining for 18 of Spigen’s 36 points in that canto. Umali went on to finish a game-high 21 points, while Pagarao, Sanciangco, and Berline also logged double figures with 16, 13, and 11, respectively.

Barbo paced White Haus with his 25 points, while Tabora contributed 18.

In the second game, Green Minded had the lead right from the get-go and kept going en route to its 24-point winning margin.
Ivan Devero top-scored for Green Minded with his 25 points, while three of his teammates also broke into double figures. Eduardo Armia added 15, while J.R. Barrios and Edwin Santos posted 13 and 10, respectively. Errol Peredo had 19 markers on a losing effort for Team Sawi.

First Game
Spigen 89 — Umali 31, Pagarao 16, Sanciangco 13, Berline 11, Tibayan 6, Tobias 4, Flores 3, Cortez 2.
White Haus 82— Barbo 25, Tabora 18, Mateo 11, Quizon 9, Cando 8, Ocampo 4, Hernandez 3, Nonato 2.
Scoring by quarters: 16-22, 35-40, 71-59, 89-82.

Second Game
Green Minded 86 — Devero 25, Armia 15, Barrios 13, Santos 10, Dela Cruz 7, Tibayan 5, Omampo 5, Itaas 4.
Team Sawi 62 — Peredo 19, Directo 15, Concepcion 13, Gragasin 9, Seralde 4, Factor 2, Garcia 2.
Scoring by quarters: 18-9, 38-28, 62-50, 86-62.