Blue Haus, Bammy’s boost finals bid

Blue Haus and Bammy’s Restaurant moved closer to a finals stint in the 2015 Graphics Invitational Masters Basketball League after winning their respective playoff matches last Monday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

Bammy’s Restaurant’s Boboy Sampang pulls up for a shot against three Armatech defenders during the fourth quarter of their playoff game in the 2015 Graphics Invitational Masters Basketball League last Monday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Blue Haus cruised to a 102-75 victory over KB Hite in the first game, while Bammy’s also posted a double-digit winning margin against Armatech, 81-68.

Bammy’s may have prevailed by twin digits, but it was not an easy victory for the team that collapsed late in the second and only managed to regain its momentum in the closing minutes of the third before finishing off Armatech early in the fourth.

Bammy’s once held a 29-17 advantage after outgunning Armatech in the first seven minutes of the second canto. A 17-3 windup brought Armatech back in the game and even gave the team a shaky lead at halftime, 34-32. James Abuy anchored the rally, scoring 10 in the second frame, including 8 straight markers, while Bammy’s was held to three free throws.

The match remained close in the third period with Armatech mostly on top before Bammy’s began to convert pull-up jumpers anew in the last four minutes of that quarter, turning a 41-45 deficit to a 52-48 lead. Jun Tabora, Alex Ocampo, Jun Alipio, and Rodney Catalla alternated in hitting medium-ranged shots for Bammy’s, while big man Jorge De Guzman capitalized on the foul-troubled Bruce Berline to get those offensive boards and score on a couple of point-blanked shots.

Bammy’s went on to carry its third quarter momentum in the opening minutes of the fourth to bring the lead back to twin digits, 62-52, with Ocampo drilling two jumpers, Alipio and Amor Zapata adding one each, and De Guzman hitting a reverse layup.

Bammy’s never looked back, as the best that Armatech could do was cut the deficit to 5, 64-69, past the halfway mark of the fourth. Armatech could have moved closer if not for its misses from the foul line. Berline and Yosh Gabaldon earlier combined for 0-for-4 from the stripe and the former missed another pair, while Ferdie Tobias only had a split following his completed and-1 play that sliced the deficit to 5.

Bammy’s hung on to the lead as it consistently hit those pull-up jumpers and spread the floor well in the last two minutes to break Armatech’s pressure defense.

In the first game, Blue Haus blew out KB Hite after turning on the heat in the second quarter.

Blue Haus was clinging to a 22-20 lead at the end of the first period when it more than doubled up KB Hite’s output in the second, 30-14, to take a comfortable 50-34 halftime advantage.

Blue Haus notched its seventh win in as many games in the inaugural league and hopes to extend the streak when it takes on Bammy’s today at 6:30pm. The winner of tonight’s first match will advance to the finals, while the loser will collide against the victor of the KB Hite-Armatech tiff for the second and last finals ticket on Friday.

First Game
Blue Haus 102 – Mendoza 20, Guiab 18, Santos 16, Diaz 11, Fernandez 10, Moises 6, Palacios 6, Macoto 5, Factor 2.

KB Hite 75 – Mungcal 23, Pangelinan 19, Plinske 10, Duenas 7, Verano 6, Morales 3, Sison 3.

Scoring by quarters: 22-20, 50-34, 80-52, 102-75.

Second Game
Bammy’s 81 – Ocampo 16, Alipio 15, De Guzman 13, Sampang 10, Catalla 9, Tabora 7, Vargas 3, Zapata 2.

Armatech 68 – Montano 16, Gabaldon 11, Abuy 10, Berline 10, Poquiz 5, Tobias 5, Park 4, Tolentino 4.

Scoring by quarters: 15-13, 32-34, 52-48, 81-68.