MIGS leads rain-halted match vs. IT&E

MIGS and IT& E’s bids for a second win in the Inaugural 2008 Navy Hill Friendship Basketball League will have to wait for another day, as their Friday night duel at the Garapan Basketball Court was suspended due to rain.

MIGS was leading the game-halted match, 78-72, with 6:47 left in the fourth quarter and with IT&E’s Brendon Talania at the 15-foot line going for his second free throw.

Talania and Olaitiman combined for 14 first quarter points to give IT&E a 26-21 lead after 10 minutes of play.

IT&E kept the lead at halftime, 47-43, as Talania and Olaitiman drew contributions from their five other teammates.

But MIGS grabbed the upperhand at the end of the third period, 67-65, with JR Concepcion and John Hugos on the firing end combining for 13 of their team’s 23 markers in that canto.

MIGS continued to lead in the fourth period, as it held IT&E to three field goals with more than three minutes gone by in the final canto.

Before the game was suspended, IT&E had scored only seven points with Bernard Montano making six and Talania hitting his first free throw.

MIGS’ Bonbon Cadagat had already nailed five markers in the fourth period, while Larry Palero had tallied three, and Mel Capalad, and Jay Norita had added two apiece.

Organizers will announce the resumption of the match later.

Twelve teams are vying for the championship of the inaugural caging. The list includes Dollar Days, RBC Rollers, Docomo, Athlete’s Foot, Uncle Ben, Inscape, MBI, 670 Rollers, Mobil, and the San Antonio Shooters.

As of Friday, Dollar Days and the RBC Rollers are tied for the lead with identical 3-0 records, while Docomo is also unbeaten and is in second place with a 2-0 slate.

Athlete’s Foot holds a 2-1 mark, while MIGS and Uncle Ben have similar 1-1 records. Inscape, IT&E, and MBI are tied for seventh to ninth place as they all have a 1-2 slate. Three teams have yet to win with the Shooters losing their debut, 670 Rollers dropping their first two games, and Mobil having a 0-3 start.

League coordinator Dante Olivos said the inaugural caging will have a single-round robin format in the regular season with the top eight teams advancing to the playoffs.

The playoffs will be single-elimination with the top four squads moving into the next round. The championship showdown will be a best-of-three affair.

Games in the Navy Hill league are played every day. There are two matches per playing day with Monday to Saturday’s games starting at 7pm. The first game every Sunday begins at 5pm.