DCCA wins two games in one night

The Department of Community and Cultural Affairs survived two games Wednesday night in the Inaugural PTI Inter-Government/Business Basketball League, outlasting the Department of Corrections and Legislature.

DCCA’s two matches in one night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium were continuations of its power outage-halted games.

Corrections-DCCA tiff was first played on Aug. 21, but was suspended with 4:13 left in the second quarter when the power went off.

DCCA was leading, 40-28, and picked up where it left off at the resumption of the match, enduring DOC’s final-quarter rally and pulling off an 89-83 win.

DCCA led by as much as 18 points in the third period, 69-51, but a stubborn DOC side worked its way back into the game in the fourth quarter.

Luis Iguel, Jefrey Quitugua, and Gregorio Blas teamed up in cutting DCCA’s lead to as low as four, 80-76, with less than three minutes in the game.

But two technical fouls broke DOC’s momentum, giving DCCA a chance to regain its bearings and keep the win.

Norris Kwon was charged with two technical fouls for complaining too much. Kwon was frustrated when referee Arnold Mesa didn’t call a foul on DCCA, as Blas drove to the basket, made contact with his defender, and nailed an acrobatic shot.

Mesa was the lone referee in the match.

Kwo’s infraction resulted to DCCA making four trips from the 15-foot line and receiving possession. Taj Van Buren went 2-for-4 from the foul line, and after DCCA and DOC traded misses in the ensuing plays, Connie Camacho made both her free throws to seal the win.

Van Buren and Elias Rangamar topscored for DCCA with 21 points apiece, while Romeo Iginoef chipped in 13.

Fifteen minutes after the DCCA-DOC match ended, DCCA returned to the court to play Legislature.

The Legislature-DCCA game was scheduled for Aug. 14, but it too was suspended, due to a power outage.

Legislature was leading by a deuce, 42-40, at halftime when the game was cancelled.

When the game resumed and ended, DCCA was on the winning side, escaping with a 79-73 triumph.

After leading at halftime, the Lawmakers hung on to the driver’s seat at the end of the third period, 60-57, as the father-and-son tandem of Ray and Ernest Duenas, and Joel Punzalan hit their mark in that canto. Ray and Ernest combined for 11 markers in the third, while Punzalan drilled two triples.

But the Legislature lost steam in the final canto with Ray and Ernest limited to a field goal and Punzalan scoring only five points. The Lawmakers were held to 13 points in the fourth period.

DCCA had more gas left on its tank despite playing more than 20 minutes in the first game.

Van Buren, Iginoef, and Rangamar provided the needed points for DCCA to nail a come-from-behind win. Van Buren connected on two triples and had a total of eight points in the fourth canto, while Rangamar and Iginoef combined for 12 markers.

DCCA 89 – Van Buren 21, Rangamar 21, Iginoef 13, C. Camacho 8, Dela Cruz 7, P. Camacho 7, Rogolifoi 6, Benavente 4, Tenorio 2.

DOC 83 – Iguel 23, Quitugua 18, Blas 14, Itibus 11, Mendiola 7, Mendez 5, Joab 4, Santos 2.

Scoring by quarters: 23-18, 50-37, 74-53, 89-83.

Referee: Arnold Mesa.

DCCA 79 – Rangamar 24, Van Buren 23, Benavente 12, Iginoef 9, C. Camacho 6.

Legislature 73 – R. Duenas 21, Punzalan 17, E. Duenas 10, Leon Guerrero 8, Guinto 7, Bermudes 4, Apatang 4 Cabrera 2.

Scoring by quarters: 17-26, 40-42, 57-60, 79-73

Referees: Dado Vistal and Michael White.