Pennant goes to Capricciosa

They’re indeed strong and now they have the pennant championship of the 2004 Inter-Restaurant Basketball League to prove it.

Capricciosa bagged the regular season title of the Midnight League early morning yesterday after drubbing a tuckered out and undermanned Jollibee squad 93-72.

It took a while, however, for the Italian-theme restaurant to get going. The fastfood kings took a 17-16 lead after the opening quarter and padded it to as much as 8 points in the early goings of the second.

But Capricciosa, behind the offense of ace playmaker Ed Arriola, fought their way back and managed to lead in the late stages of the first half before Jollibee tied it up at 35-all at the turn.

In the 3-point shootout at the break, former national player Gyles Ruluked of Capricciosa edged Rotary league veteran Omar Ajoste to win the contest.

Play resumed with both teams back to square one at the beginning of the second half. Capricciosa seemed to have more energy than Jollibee at the onset of the third quarter and streaked to an 8-point lead on a pretty finger-roll by Randy Arconado.

The fastfood kings retaliated with a run of their own and cut the deficit by half. But Capricciosa would go on their patented late-quarter surge to take a 12-point advantage, 57-45, going into the fourth and final quarter.

With only 10 minutes separating them from hoisting the pennant, Capricciosa greeted the payoff period with more resolve and proceeded to break what remained of Jollibee’s spirit.

Consecutive unmolested fastbreak buckets by Arriola, triggered by defensive aces on the other end by Reynaldo Camacho and Ruluked, gave Capricciosa an 18-point bulge and the rout was on.

Next thing you know, the lead is 26 points and Capricciosa coach Jun Hirano is emptying his bench.

Bryan Lontoc of Jollibee tried to make the most of garbage time, scooting in for a couple of high-arching shots to the delight of Jollibee fans, who already conceded the game to their opponents.

But there was still no mistaking that Capricciosa vindicated itself by routing Jollibee. The team was the preseason favorite to go all the way but encountered trouble after losing to Angel Wings early in the eliminations.

But that loss proved to be just a minor speed bump towards greater things, as Capricciosa once again unveiled an explosive fastbreak to complement its solid inside game to vanquish Jollibee.

Next stop: The playoffs and on to the finals.

Capricciosa, Angel Wings, and Country House actually finished the regular season tied with identical 5-1 marks. But Capricciosa took home the pennant because of a superior quotient. Angel Wings, which if not for their loss to Country House last Thursday morning would have won the pennant championship, settled for second place. Country House finished third.

The rest of the 2004 IRBL standings has Jollibee at fourth place with a 3-3 record, El Segundo fifth at 2-4, defending champion Keeraku at 1-5, and LSG Sky Chef bringing the rear at 0-6.

Capricciosa 93 – Arriola 26, Camacho 13, Arconado 10, Armas 9, Ruluked 8, Balabas 6, Navarro 5, Mangahis 4, Factor 4, Viola 3, Suda 3, Sundian 2.

Jollibee 72 – Dulug 15, Lontoc 12, Reyes 11, Cruz 11, Santos 8, Ajoste 7, Marcelo 4, Reolope 3, Luna 2, Yumul 2.

Scoring by quarters: 16-17, 35-35, 57-45, 93-72.

Referees: Arnold Mesa and Jake Villanueva.