Ol’Aces scrape by Golden Oldies

O’Duols-Ol’Aces let a big lead slip away and then leaned on the heroics of Dan Barcinas down the stretch to turn back Bacardi-Golden Oldies, 83-81, Wednesday night in the 2005 Budweiser Cup BANMI Men’s Island-wide Basketball League at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Seeing action in the second game, Ol’Aces enjoyed leads of as much as 14 points in the third quarter before a torrid late-game run by Golden Oldies had them trailing by four points with 48 seconds left on the game clock.

But in the ensuing play, Barcinas successfully challenged 6’4” Tony Raho and 6’3” Bruce Berline in the inside to cut Old’Aces’ deficit to two points, 79-81. Golden Oldies also didn’t help their cause as Rufino Aguon threw an ill-advised pass to a cutting Jeff Warfield that went out of bounds.

With the shot clock off, Ol’Aces moved the ball around in the perimeter before Barcinas once again decided to take matters in his own hands and drove hard baseline before being fouled by Warfield.

Warfield, however, wasn’t able to stop Barcinas from making the basket, as the 5’9” swingman released the ball at the same time he was shoved toward the end line, giving him an opportunity for a 3-point play with eight ticks to go.

Luckily for the Golden Oldies, Barcinas wasn’t able to convert on the bonus free throw. Unfortunately for them, however, was Berline touched the basketball last as it was going out, reverting possession back to Ol’Aces.

With no time to lose, Barcinas got the inbounds pass inside the 3-point arc, faked, dribbled a couple of times before lofting a sweet 18-footer over the outstretched arms of the taller Golden Oldies for the win.

It was a roller coaster ballgame to say the least for both Ol’Aces and Golden Oldies.

Golden Oldies started off well with Gilbert Espinosa scoring a bushel to give them a 19-12 lead after the first quarter. Ol’Aces came back in the second with their spread-out offense and managed to take a 39-35 spread at the half.

Ol’Aces then let it all hang out in the third combining a lightning-quick running attack with a thunderous 3-point barrage that had them erecting as much as a 14-point advantage midway through the period, before settling on a 62-54 cushion heading into the fourth and final canto.

A huffing and puffing Golden Oldies recovered just in time to start the fourth and the two-minute rest obviously worked wonders for the 35-and-over cagers, as they outscored Ol’Aces 19-11 in the first six minutes of the payoff period to knot the score at 73-all.

Although Ol’Aces momentarily reclaimed the lead, Golden Oldies seemed to be on their way to a come-from-behind victory when Berline, Espinosa, and Jeff Punzalan joined hands and gave the team an 81-77 lead. Barcinas and company, however, had other plans and ended the game with the 6-0 run.

Amazingly, all seven players that scored for Ol’Aces finished in double figures led by the 16 of sharp-shooting big man Jack Lizama. Pistol Pete Iguel wound up with 13 points, while Barcinas, Shan Seman, Mike Olaitaman, Dexter Dillay, and Iguel’s brother Luis tossed in 10 or more points. It was only the second win in five games for the 25-and-under champs.

Espinosa took game-high honors with 25 points, while Berline and Punzalan added 15 and 12 markers, respectively, for Golden Oldies, which dropped to 1-4 in the team standings.

In the first game, Anheuser-8 3’s Construction ran roughshod over Budweiser-Wells Fargo, 89-65.

Towering slotman Dalewin Cortez paced the victors with 21 points, while Ben Sablan apparently has made a complete recovery from a car accident he suffered years ago and shot the lights out for Well Fargo with 25 points.

The win gave the National Car Rental-backed team a 2-3 record, while the loss was the fourth in as many starts for Wells Fargo.

First Games
Anheuser-8 3’s Const. 89 – Cortez 21, Factor 12, Artates 10, Barbo 9, De Dios 7, Peredo 7, Cequena 7, Muleta 7, De Guzman 6, Mendoza 3.
Budweiser-Wells Fargo 65 – Sablan 25, G. Palacios 11, J. Palacios 10. Ngeskebei 9, G. Palacios 2, Andrew 2.
Scoring by quarters: 21-19, 37-40, 63-47, 89-65.
Referees: Arnold Mesa and Jess Pacheco.

Second Game
O’Duols-Ol’Aces 83 – Lizama 16, P. Iguel 13, Seman 11, Barcinas 11, Olaitaman 11, Dillay 11, L. Iguel 10.
Bacardi-Golden Oldies 81 – Espinosa 25, Berline 15, Punzalan 12, Raho 9, MacDuff 8, Aguon 6, Warfield 6.
Scoring by quarters: 12-19, 39-35, 62-54, 83-81.
Referees: Dado Vistal and Noel Delos Santos.