69ers win IVYBL championship

San Antonio 69ers won the championship of the 2005 Island-wide Village Youth Basketball League beating defending champion Garapan Rollers 64-54 last night at the Garapan Basketball Court.

Playoff MVP Jake Maratita scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and Matt Sablan completed a crucial 3-point play to give 69ers a 60-52 lead with a little over a minute remaining in the ballgame.

Maratita’s firepower was huge in the payoff period, considering San Antonio played the final 4:05 without center Bill Babauta, who fouled out on a rebound play against G-Rollers’ Don Teregeyo.

The win finally rid the 69ers of the stigma of last year’s runner-up finish, when they blew a 10-point lead with about five minutes left to basically the same team.

But for a moment, it seemed like déjà vu all over again for coach Ray Duenas and his players, as they allowed Garapan to chop their 13-point, third-quarter lead and even trailed as much as four points with over six minutes left.

This was virtually after dominating the G-Rollers, leading 13-5 after the first quarter, and although they allowed Garapan to creep back, leading by just 28-23 at the half, they regained controlled of the match in the third.

The G-Rollers of coach Joe Diaz showed a lot of heart and erased the 69ers’ 38-25 lead by going on a dizzying 14-3 run to end the third down by just a bucket, 39-41.

They carried that momentum into the final eight-minute canto, as the 69ers were reduced to playing matador defense as several of their players were a foul away from hitting the showers.

Garapan scored the first six points of the quarter to take a 45-41 lead before Maratita took over the ballgame with an array of gutsy drives, pull-up jumpers, and put-backs in traffic.

He first tied the contest 50-50 with an acrobatic layup at the 2:41 mark then added a couple more buckets and a free throw to give 69ers a 57-52 spread with 1:12 remaining.

Sablan then broke Garapan’s back with the old-fashioned 3-point play a few seconds later and G-Rollers were reduced to scrambling for prayers that was never answered as 69ers completed their undefeated run in the season.

“I knew they were coming back and they even took the lead. So I called timeout and talked to my boys and said ‘in order for us to win this game, we need to pressure them. Full-court press, steal the ball, convert the two points, and make it count,’” said coach Duenas.

He said the championship was doubly special for him because of how they came short in 2004 and since most of his players are graduating to the Rotary 18-and-under league.

“This is a very, very sweet following last year’s runner-up finish and I congratulate my boys for winning this game,” he said just moments before being doused with iced water by his players.

Maratita finished with a game-high 22 points to lead 69ers, while Mart Pangelinan added 20.

Nate Mateo was brilliant in defeat, fueling G-Rollers’ upset try with 14 points, while Jose Castro and Jericho Cruz chipped in 13 and 11, respectively in the loss.

On Wednesday, San Antonio Sixers I clinched third place with a 62-40 win over Tanapag Young Warriors also at the Garapan court.

Bryan Chan led all scorers with 15 and Dwight Buena and Kristian Aquino added 10 points apiece for Sixers I. Young Warriors were led by their Dynamic Duo of Gerome Mira and Ike Aldan with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Championship Game
San Antonio 69ers 64 – Maratita 22, Pangelinan 20, M. Duenas 7, Sablan 6, E. Duenas 5, Kings 3, Babauta 2.
Garapan Rollers 54 – N. Mateo 14, Castro 13, Cruz 11, Basila 6, Jones 6, Teregeyo 2, Moses 2.
Scoring by quarters: 13-5, 28-25, 41-39, 64-54.

Consolation Game
San Antonio Sixers I 62 – Chan 15, Buena 10, Aquino 10, Villegas 8, Cabrera 6, Eclevia 6, Rosario 4, Flores 3.
Tanapag Warriors 40 – Mira 14, Aldan 12, Dillay 8, Pangelinan 2, Castro 2, Repeki 2.
Scoring by quarters: 12-16, 29-26, 41-32, 62-40.