IT&E, AK-Toyota to dispute MIBL crown

AK-Toyota’s Shane Deleon Guerrero drives hard to the basket against La Mesa Kitchen in their game in the Inaugural IT&E MIBL Fantasy Draft Tournament last Saturday at the Agape Gymnasium. (MARK RABAGO)

Will AK-Toyota zoom ahead or will IT&E make a successful connection in the championship of the Inaugural IT&E MIBL Fantasy Draft Tournament set tonight at the Agape Gymnasium?

AK-Toyota and IT&E advanced to the championship of the short tourney after topping their respective brackets. The former was No. 1 in bracket B with a 4-0 win-loss card, while the later was No. 1 in Group A with a 3-1 record.

AK-Toyota’s finals appearance, however, wasn’t secured until the car dealership overcame a spirited stand by La Mesa Kitchen to win overtime, 70-66, in the first game last Saturday.

Due to an inferior quotient, La Mesa had to beat AK-Toyota by 12 points and it appeared the Mexican-Filipino restaurant had a chance to pull it off as it led most of the game.

AK-Toyota somehow narrowed the gap and forced overtime when it didn’t have to when Shane Deleon Guerrero converted a layup in the last seconds to make it 61-all.

Realizing they’d advance to the finals even if they lose by 2 points, AK-Toyota quickly fouled Mac Mintac in the following La Mesa posession. 

Knowing that they still have a shot to win by 12 in overtime, the high-flying forward intentionally missed both freebies as the match went into extension.

In the 3-minute extra period (tourney rules), AK-Toyota quickly made the end of the game anticlimactic as they didn’t allow La Mesa to lead and they eventually won by 4 points.

Deleon Guerrero shone all game long to finish with 33 points, while D.J. Ong had his best game in the tourney with 21 points.

In the second game, Eats Easy nipped IT&E, 76-75, in a no-bearing game as the telecommunications company was already assured a finals berth after starting 3-l.

Greg Deleon Guerreo paced Eats Easy in their swan song with 24 points, while Airson Atan fired 18 and Preston Basa 17 in the loss.

The six-team tourney also saw Aqua Resort Club (1-4) and Latte Built (0-4) participate, while Eats Easy and La Mesa wound up with indentical 2-2 records each. 

First Game
AK-Toyota 70 – Deleon Guerrero 33, Directo 10, Ferrer 10, Velasco 6, Camacho 4, Javier 4.
La Mesa 66 – Ong 21, Mintac 16, Cruz 11, Natividad 9, Sapo 3, Galang 3, Reyes 3.
Scoring by quarters: 21-18, 27-29, 47-44, 61-61, 70-66.
 
Second Game
Eats Easy 76 – Deleon Guerrero 24, Ferrari 20, Darag 14, Macaraig 12, Sablan 10, Albert 3.
IT&E 75 – Atan 18, Basa 17, Pastrana 15, Fitial 9, Santos 9, Capalad 6, Sumor 2.
Scoring by quarters: 12-22, 26-32, 52-56, 76-75.