Previous Story
Ol’Aces hold off Rollers 2, 78-73
|
Posted on Sep 08 2011
A shorthanded Ol’Aces crew bested Rollers 2, 78-73, on Wednesday as the Saipan Rotary Club Youth Basketball League’s U19 season continued at the TSL Sports Complex in Gualo Rai.
With a complete roster, the Ol’Aces have won every game they played, dropping just one via forfeit last week to NMC Proa.
Rollers 2 now holds an even win-loss card of 2-2.
The season continues tonight in Gualo Rai with the Sonics (3-1) going up against Rollers 1 (1-3) at 5pm.
Ol’Aces and Rollers 2 were on the run right after the tip, setting the scene for a very fast-pace matchup. After a back-and-forth opening eight minutes, the Rollers 2 held a slim, 18-15, advantage. Five different Rollers 2 players chipped in on the action.
The teams continued to fire away in the second canto and after multiple lead changes, it was just a one-point game, 34-33, still in favor of Rollers 2 at halftime.
Rollers 2 stuck to its game plan of spreading the ball around. Ol’Aces’ Sahj Hossain helped keep his team in contention with 12 points in the first half.
Ol’Aces’ roster of seven caught their second wind after the break and managed to steal the lead, 54-52, heading in the payoff period. Ol’Aces’ Christian DeVero scrambled for seven markers, while teammates Lawrence Rollon and Luther Taylor came off the bench with five points apiece.
This battle went all the way to the last 30 seconds as the Rollers 2 missed a great chance under the basket that may have sent it into overtime. Their last-gasp attempt rimmed out and Ol’Aces’ Kevin DeLeon drained three pressure-packed free throws to secure the victory.
It was a group effort by the Ol’Aces as the team wrung out any energy it had left as a unit.
Hossain led the Ol’Aces with 19 points, while Rollers 2’s Rodney Sacramento and Rodney Danas tallied 18 apiece in the loss.
[B]Ol’Aecs 78[/B] – Hossain 19, DeVero 17, Taylor 12, DeLeon 10, Rollon 9, Ichihara 6, Mizer 4.[B] Rollers 2 73[/B] – Danas 18, Sacramento 18, Iglesias 10, Metran 8, Maranan 6, Salas 5, Ano 4, Rabauliman 2, DLGuerrero 2.
[B] Scoring by quarters:[/B] 15-18, 33-34, 54-52, 78-73.
