Ali’i Blue Haus takes early lead

Ali’i Blue Haus/Bayani’s Bart Demapan, right, draws contact from BSI-Blue Eagle’s Brady Hammond on his way for a short jumper during the fourth quarter of their game in the UFO/IT&E caging last Thursday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Ali’i Blue Haus/Bayani kept its unbeaten record in the 2016 UFO/IT&E Inter-Organizational Basketball League following a 67-58 win over Best Sunshine International-Blue Eagle/SMF last Thursday night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

BSI-Blue Eagle folded up in the last 7:35 of the game, as it was held to two field goals in the remainder of the match and went scoreless for six minutes and change, allowing Ali’i Blue Haus to steal the win and improve to a league best 3-0 mark.

BSI-Blue Eagle was still up at 53-49 in the early part of the fourth canto before it struggled on offense as it played without Douglas Schmidt, while Matt Duenas became a marked man.

Ali’i Blue Haus, on the other hand, began to get its fastbreak game going to overhaul the deficit and hand BSI-Blue Eagle its first loss. Bart Demapan sparked Ali’i Blue Haus’ run with his and-1 play on a fastbreak shot against Tony Raho. Edwin Santos and Manolo Manalo then completed the 12-0 surge with their split free throws, lifting Ali’i Blue Haus to a double-digit lead, 65-53, with less than two minutes to go.

A Ferdie Tobias’ point-blanked shot off an offensive rebound off Matt Duenas’ second miss from the foul line ended BSI-Blue House silence, 1:04 left in the match. Tobias also nailed the team’s second and last field goal in the fourth quarter collapse with his banked triple beating the buzzer.

Tobias led all scorers with his 24 points, while Demapan paced Ali’i Blue Haus with his 14 markers. Tony Diaz was the other double-figure scorer for the solo leader, adding 10, while five other Ali’i Blue Haus players combined for 31 points.

In the first game, Cavite gained its second win in three matches after outlasting Stephen’s Pawnshop, 81-77.

Cavite built enough cushion in the second quarter to withstand Stephen’s Pawnshop’s comeback bid in the second half. The winning team led at the break, 49-32, thanks to Preston Basa, who reported back to the game after missing their second assignment and scored 13 straight markers in the second quarter. The former Saipan Southern High School standout outgunned the entire Stephen’s Pawnshop crew in the second period, as the latter was held to 11 points.

Stephen’s Pawnshop tried to recover in the second half, but fell short as Basa’s teammates picked up the slack to contribute to Cavite’s victory.

Basa had 22 points to lead Cavite, while Marvin Rabauliman tallied 11 markers in his debut in the league. Jack Aranda top-scored for Stephen’s Pawnshop with his 25 points.

First Game
Cavite 81— Basa 22, Rabauliman 11, Cosino 9, Iglecias 9, Barcinas 6, Palacios 4, Laguindam 4, Quemado 2, Sevilla 2, Garcia 2.
Stephen’s Pawnshop 77 — Aranda 25, De Guzman 14, Abuy 13, Dayrit 8, Van Buren 8, Espinosa 8, L. Aquino 2.
Scoring by quarters: 21-21, 49-32, 69-54, 81-77.

Second Game
Ali’i Blue Haus 67 — Demapan 14, T. Diaz 10, Devero 8, E. Diaz 7, Guiab 6, Santos 5, Esdrelon 5, Pagarao 4, Barbo 3, Moises 2.
BSI-Blue Eagle 58 — Tobias 24, Palino 7, Mat. Duenas 7, Pablo 5, Raho 5, Standish 5, Man. Duenas 2, De La Torre 2.
Scoring by quarters: 13-18, 28-29, 49-49, 67-58.