Ol’Aces clinch finals berth

Ol’Aces caught the last trip to the finals of the 2008-2009 BANMI/Budweiser Basketball League after outclassing Diamond Auto Care in their playoff game, 92-84, Wednesday night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Ol’Aces will duel Docomo for this year’s title. Docomo has a twice-to-beat advantage over Ol’Aces, as the former swept its first three games in the playoffs. Game 1 of the finals is set for tonight, while Game 2, if necessary, will be played on Monday.

The eight-point win was Ol’Aces’ lone victory against Diamond this season. The Auto Fixers swept Ol’Aces in the regular season, pulling off 82-74 and 83-72 wins in the first and second round, respectively. Diamond made it three in a row when it defeated Ol’Aces in the quarterfinals, 89-76.

In their fourth meeting, Ol’Aces made sure they were on the winning side this time.

Ol’Aces comeback taking full control of the game in the closing minutes of the third period and then held off Diamond’s repeated comeback bids in the fourth to nail the last finals seat.

After trailing at halftime, 38-44, Freddie Pelisamen led Ol’Aces’ recovery in the third, firing nine straight points. Junior Renguul also scored in spurts, tallying Ol’Aces last seven points in the third period to give his team a 64-59 lead, entering the fourth period.

Ol’Aces began the payoff period with a triple from Tyrone Omar and they posted their biggest lead at 11, 72-61, with about seven minutes left in the match

Ol’Aces started pulling away in the game with their starters on the bench, allowing Omar, Mike Olaitiman, Renguul, and Romeo Iginoef to contributed to the team’s cause.

When Ol’Aces’ starters returned to the court, it was timely, as Diamond was threatening to come back.

A Bruce Berline undergoal stab moved Diamond within four, 75-79, going into the last two minutes of the game. But that was the closest that the Auto Fixers would get, as they missed in succession, while Ol’Aces drew clutch baskets from Pelisamen and made several free throws in the stretch to preserve the win.

Pelisamen scored four straight points and the Ol’Aces went 7-for-10 from the 15-foot line with less than two minutes in the fourth period to set a title match with Docomo.

Ol’Aces 92 – Pelisamen 18, P. Camacho 17, Lizama 13, Renguul 11, Iginoef 8, Olaitiman 6, Rangamar 6, White 5, Omar 3.

Diamond Auto Care 84 – Joyner 16, Peredo 16, Esdrelon 16, Muleta 8, Berline 8, Camacho 8, Talania 6.

Scoring by quarters: 20-17, 38-44, 64-59, 92-84.