Ol’Aces I sweeps Budweiser Cup finals

Toyota Ol’Aces I bagged its second consecutive BANMI Budweiser Cup championship after sweeping archrival APC Brothers, 97-96, in another bruising game Wednesday night that saw a near free-for-all erupt as time expired.

Ol’Aces I trailed the entire first half as Brothers started the game with great energy and focus expected from a team a game away from kissing its championship hopes goodbye.

With high-scoring swingman Freddie Peliseman knocking down jumpers and one-man-fastbreak Tony Diaz doing his best Road Runner impersonation, Brothers were on top 26-22 after a quarter of play.

Ol’Aces I continued to grope for form in the second stanza as leading scorer Peter Camacho got bottled up. Brothers, meanwhile, continued to get a steady dose of Peliseman’s scoring plus some aggressive inside forays by playmaker Rick Alegre.

Things got testy between the two teams at the tailend of the half. With Brothers ahead by 11 points, Alegre and Ol’Aces I playing coach Elias Rangamar fell down near the endline and were slow to get up.

A few moments later Ol’Aces I enforcer Romeo Iginoef joined the scene and jawed with Alegre. Fortunately cool heads prevailed and Ol’Aces I rallied and made it an 8-point game, 51-43, at lemontime.

Fired up by the events that transpired before the end of the first half, Ol’Aces I began the third with a sense of purpose and outscored Brothers 12-0 at one point to take the driver’s seat.

After a being silenced in the second, Peter Camacho suddenly woke up in the period and sizzled for 10 points on an assortment of shots.

His brother Abong, the most dominant big man in the CNMI if he puts his mind to it, also aided Ol’Aces I’s comeback scoring 8 points on left-handed, point-blank thrusts to the basket.

After all was said in done, Ol’Aces I wiped the floor with Brothers, outscoring them 34-17, in the third to go up 77-68 going into the payoff period.

But Brothers were far from finished. With Peliseman all but handcuffed by Abong and Edsel Mendoza’s suffocating defense and do-it-all forward Ed Diaz having an off night scoring, Tony Diaz rose to the occasion and defied Ol’Aces I’s giants on the inside.

Brothers’ own behemoth, 6’4” Oscar Ada also joined the fray and his surprising two-handed slam with 8:15 remaining narrowed the count to 76-79.

Youth cager Mel Manibusan further stoke the fires of Brothers’ rally putting back a miss to cut the deficit to a single point, 78-79.

Ol’Aces I answered with an 8-0 run of its own time down to 5:37. But Brothers would just not go away and labored the next four minutes to get one last crack at Ol’Aces I.

The opportunity came when Ada’s inside stab made it a 95-91 game in favor of Ol’Aces I with 1:16 left in the game clock.

Following an exchange of turnovers and the last two of Ada’s six missed free throws, Iginoef got free under the basket to make it a 6-point game 21 ticks left.

After a Tony Diaz bucket made it 97-93, Ol’Aces I failed to seal the win when Abong lost the ball to the endline.

Jeff Diaz finished the scoring with a connection from 25 feet out but while the Brothers’ 3-point sniper was releasing his shot Abong and Peliseman were busy exchanging blows at center court.

The commotion spilled over after the game and Peliseman reportedly filed a complaint against Abong, who in turn counter charged.

The incident marred an otherwise exciting ballgame and sort of dampened the post-game awards presentation and victory party of Ol’Aces I.

Finals MVP Peter Camacho led the way for Ol’Aces I with 21 points before fouling out, while four other teammates registered double-digit scores.

Peliseman paced Brothers with 30 hard-earned points and had a busted lip to show for it. Regular season MVP Tony Diaz finished with 27 points, while brother Ed was held down to 10.

Ol’Aces I 97 – P. Camacho 21, A. Camacho 18, Santos 16, Rangamar 14, Iginoef 13, Mendoza 9, Renguul 4.

Brothers 96 – Peliseman 30, T. Diaz 27, E. Diaz 10, Ada 9, Alegre 9, Manibusan 8, J. Diaz 3.

Scoring by quarters: 22-26, 43-51, 77-68, 97-96.