Lopsided wins for PIC, Fiesta

James Abuy drained a record 14 triples to power Pacific Islands Club/NVM to a 124-78 demolition of Wushin Corp. during the curtain raiser in the 3rd Annual Shirley’s Coffee Shop Invitational Basketball League last Thursday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

Abuy finished with 44 points and his 14 treys surpassed the previous record of 10 triples Fiesta’s Elmer Esdrelon hit on Nov. 6 against GPPC, Inc. The PIC gunner started his streak shooting early in the opening canto, firing three shots from downtown for the defending champion’s 26-17 lead.

Abuy then took a long breather in the second canto and was held to only two markers. However, his other teammates stepped up and PIC managed to stretch the lead to double digits at halftime, 51-36. Seven players scored for PIC in the second canto to keep the driver’s seat, while only four piled up points for Wushin with Jun Tabora tallying 10.

Abuy regained his shooting touch in the third, drilling three more treys to help PIC retain the double-figure lead, 79-60, entering the fourth canto. Then in the final period, Abuy finished what he started, as he connected on eight more triples after Wushin allowed him several open looks at the basket. Abuy’s 24 points off his barrage of triples outscored the entire Wushin crew, who teamed up for only 18 markers in the fourth canto.

Four other PIC players tallied double figures in the easy win. Rex Yabut chipped in 17, Angelo Fernando added 14, and Bon Tamayo and Zack Diaz chipped in 11 and 10, respectively.

With the victory, PIC improved to a 6-2 record for a three-way tie for second place with Fiesta Resort & Spa and DFS Galleria.

Wushin fell to a 2-6 record, leaving its playoff chances hang in a balance. Only the Top 8 teams after the round-robin regular season will advance to the next round and Wushin is in seventh place and just half a game ahead of Shirley’s (1-6), Grillin’ (1-6), and GPPC (1-6).

Fiesta extended its winning run to six after routing Grillin’.

The 22-point victory almost slipped away from Fiesta’s hands, as it had only four players available for the game with the opening buzzer about to sound.

Fiesta managed to field five players when the game started and Ivan Devero worked early in absence of Elmer Esdrelon, scoring 10 points for a 27-17 advantage. Fiesta went on to pad the lead in the last three quarters as more players came in, including Esdrelon.

Ariel Jinang played in the second quarter and sizzled for 16 points to finish with 21, while Joyner came in late in the first period and chipped in 16. Devero led Fiesta with 31 markers. Ernie Moises, who was among the five players who saved Fiesta from default in the first period, contributed 11.

Grillin’ fell behind by double digits in the majority of the game, but was able to slice the lead to eight, 78-86, off Lerio Pagarao and Leo Galarse’s successive baskets, with less than five minutes left on the clock. However, Fiesta answered with a short 6-0 run, off Esdrelon and Devero’s completed three-point plays to widen the gap anew.

PIC/NVM 124 – Abuy 44, Yabut 17, Fernando 14, Tamayo 11, Diaz 10, Rasa 8, Mina 8, Lizama 7, Johanes 4.

Wushin Corp. 78 – Tabora 24, Patawaran 12, Santos 10, Tobias 10, Tibayan 9, De Jesus 8, O. Ebuen 5.

Scoring by quarters: 26-17, 51-36, 79-60, 124-78.

Fiesta 112 – Devero 31, Jinang 21, Joyner 16, Moises 11, Ong 8, Esdrelon 8, Salazar 8, Talania 6, Berline 4, Rabago 1.

Grillin’ 90 – Pagarao 29, Galarse 22, Hernandez 10, Herrera 8, Lerio 8, Kintz 6, J. Loste 4, Rotap 3.

Scoring by quarters: 27-17, 57-37, 78-64, 112-90.