Armatech pounds Maplas in Masters

Armatech took the early lead in the Masters division of the 2015 San Antonio Community Action Network Basketball League after crushing Maplas, 88-42, last Friday at the San Antonio court.

Armatech’s Manny Duenas pulls up for a shot against Rodolfo Barrios during the fourth quarter of their Masters game in the San Antonio caging last Friday at the San Antonio court. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Armatech improved to a 2-0 record to move to the top spot in the 10-team field, while Maplas is at the bottom with its 0-2 slate.

Both teams started slow with Armatech scoring only 14 points in the first quarter against the 6 of Maplas, but once that former got into its rhythm in the second quarter the win came in handy. At the end of the second canto, Armatech zoomed to a 38-21 lead. Five Armatech players joined forces in the breakaway en route to the biggest winning margin posted so far in the Masters division.

Big man Bruce Berline paced Armatech with his 17 points, as he cherry-picked in the paint against the much smaller Maplas front liners.

In other Masters results, VM Production debuted with a 74-72 victory against CES Electronics (0-3) last Wednesday.

It was a come-from-behind win for VM Production, as it trailed by 6, 41-47, going into the third period and even faced a double-digit deficit at halftime, 27-38.

Henry Manipon and Amor Zapata teamed up in VM Production’s recovery in the fourth, as they fired 10 and 9 points, respectively, with the former making the go-ahead basket and the latter drilling two straight field goals in the homestretch.

OPEN DIVISION
MJD 87, Ask Y U B 78.
MJD Enterprise is back on top of the East Group after outclassing the then unbeaten Ask Y U B last Wednesday.

MJD now has a 3-1 card to lead Ask U Y B (2-1), Sonics (2-1), Islander (1-1), 5-Star (0-1), and Maplas (0-1).

Freddie Pelisamen, who did not play in MJD’s loss to Islander, 70-76, made up for his absence as he knocked in a game-high 41 points. After scoring only two field goals in the first period, Pelisamen as unstoppable in the last three quarters, as he nailed baskets in succession. He had his longest scoring streak in the third frame when he fired 10 straight points to hand MJD a 65-57 lead after they trailed at halftime, 41-43.

Pelisamen was still at it in the final canto, as he added 15 more points, including 6 consecutive markers and a triple that was MJD’s last basket in the match.

U18
Sonics 87, KB Market 80
The Sonics barged into the win column after a 0-2 start following a 7-point victory against KB Market (0-2).

It was a seesaw battle in the U18 pairing last Wednesday with the Sonics victorious in the end after getting contributions from a lot of their players. Eight Sonics players made it to the board in the final canto, which started with the team hanging on to a 59-58 lead after staring a 36-41 halftime deficit.

Franco Muna helped the Sonics keep the driver’s seat in the fourth period after scoring 8 of his 10 points in the payoff frame. Four other Sonics players contributed at least two baskets apiece.