Dollar Days, KFC/Taco Bell set title duel

Dollar Days and KFC/Taco Bell showed poise in the crucial stage of their respective semis games to arrange a championship duel in the 2009 Navy Hill Friendship Basketball League.

KFC/Taco Bell clinched the first finals ticket after slipping past Inchcape, 99-95, Thursday night, while Dollar Days sealed the second finals berth after outlasting Athlete’s Foot, 88-77.

A sizeable crowd watched the semis games and did not mind staying late in the evening at the Garapan Basketball court, as they were treated to an exciting Final Four show.

Dollar Days cruised to the finals match, as it won the battle of spurts in the second semis game.

A decisive 15-4 windup in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter saved the top-seeded Dollar Days from a Final Four collapse.

Dollar Days was still ahead in the opening minutes of the fourth canto, 70-58, when Elmer Esdrelon led Athlete’s Foot’s 15-0 run to grab the lead, 73-70, with 4:04 remaining on the clock

Bon Tamayo nailed his lone triple of the night from the right key to start Dollar Days’ own rally. Wowie Abuel also notched a triple, while Kae Bernardo and Ivan De Vero made two points each to give Dollar Days’ another double-digit lead, 83-73, going into the final two minutes of the game.

Athlete’s Foot had several chances to mount another comeback, but made poor shot selections, missing all its 11 attempts from downtown. Jawn Joyner muffed four triples, Esdrelon missed three, and Krisgel Arreza, and Nate Mateo faltered two shots each. Interestingly, Athlete’s Foot went 2-for-3 in the paint, scoring their last four points on layups.

The Athelete’s Foot-Dollar Days semis tiff ended in deadlocks both in the first (20-all) and second quarters (34-all). Bernardo then knocked in 12 points in the third period, as Dollar Days outgunned Athlete’s Foot, 24-13, to take a 58-47 lead. Athlete’s Foot moved within three in the fourth, 58-61, before a short 9-0 run gave Dollar Days a 12-point lead, 70-58. Both teams scored in spurts in the final seven minutes of the match with Dollar Days having the last say.

In the first semis match, KFC/Taco Bell had the breaks of the game on its side in the final four minutes of the game, getting four points from two technical fouls.

Sonny Lerio canned both free throws of a technical foul on Ferdie Tobias, who shouted while the latter was pulling up for a triple. Defensive players are allowed only to utter words like “ball” and “miss” when an offensive player is going for a shot. Any other words or even clapping of hands would result on a technical foul.

Lerio’s charities, followed by Larry Palero’s undergoal basket, and Bonbon Cadagat’s triple helped KFC/Taco Bell turn an 85-86 deficit to a 92-86 lead, with less than three minutes left in the game. Lerio made it 94-86 when he canned two more charities off a technical foul on Marlon De Dios, who was too close to the inbound passer.

A short 6-2 run capped by Errol Peredo’s pair of free throws moved Inchape within two, 94-92, with 42 seconds left in the game. Inchcape went for a pressured defense, but Cadagat eluded his defenders and passed the ball to Leo Itaas, who sprinted to the left wing and made the bucket.

Peredo missed in Inchcape’s ensuing play, while Palero collared the defensive board and sustained a cut near his left eyebrow, as Tim Wesley fouled the KFC center hard. Jerome Norita then stepped up to the 15-foot line replacing Palero, whose cut was still bleeding, and the former split his charities for the insurance basket.
[B] First Game[/B]

KFC/Taco Bell 99 – Cadagat 37, Lerio 26, Palero 12, Itaas 10, Norita 7, Capalad 3, Itibus 2, Alcantara 2.

Inchcape 95 – Mendoza 25, Ranola 16, De Dios 15, Peredo 12, Wesley 11, Casabuena 7, Tobias 5, Rebuyon 3.

Scoring by quarters: 28-16, 46-39, 65-64, 99-95.

Dollar Days 88 – Bernardo 32, De Vero 24, Abuel 13, Demapan 8, Tamayo 7, Pantaleon 4.

Athlete’s Foot 77 – Esdrelon 25, Joyner 16, Mateo 14, Guiab 11, Arreza 7, Fernandez 2, Ong 2.

Scoring by quarters: 20-all 34-all, 58-47, 88-77.