Blue Haus nips LBT in overtime

Blue Haus saved its perfect record in the regular season of the 2015 United Filipino Organization Basketball League after outlasting LBT Appraisal in overtime, 80-79, in their Masters division game last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Junar Guiab knocked in a pair of free throws off a foul from Randy Mungcal in the closing seconds of the extension period to lift Blue Haus to the hard-earned victory. Blue Haus finished the round-robin contest with an immaculate 5-0 mark, while LBT Appraisal ended up with a 3-2 slate, losing its last two matches.

LBT Appraisal had a chance to hand Blue Haus its first defeat this season when the former led by 6 points, 70-64, with 1:36 left in regulation. Alex Ocampo drilled back-to-back baseline jumpers, while Jorge De Guzman made a putback off an Edgar Pangelinan miss from downtown to give LBT Appraisal the two-possession advantage.

LBT Appraisal’s Jorge De Guzman loses possession as he is swarmed by four Blue Haus defenders during the fourth quarter of their Masters division game in the UFO caging last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

However, LBT Appraisal squandered the lead, committing costly errors and missing two attempts in the ensuing plays.

On the other hand, Blue Haus turned those miscues into points with Edwin Santos making an undergoal stab and Ernie Moises scoring back-to-back layups. Moises’ last layup was made after Jun Alipio’s crosscourt pass to Mungcal was intercepted by Edsel Mendoza.

After Blue Haus equalized, LBT was still left with 25.2 seconds to set up for the go-ahead basket. However, LBT Appraisal had another booboo when De Guzman drove to the basket, but lost possession against a phalanx of Blue Haus defenders.

Mendoza picked up the loose ball and looked at the clock, which read 9.2 seconds. He then stopped for a while near the 3-point area to look for his teammates before driving to the basket, but his running jumper was way short. LBT Appraisal got the rebound and threw up a prayer from the backcourt as the fourth-quarter buzzer sounded with the game still tied.

In overtime, the opposing teams breathed on each other’s neck with LBT Appraisal having the lead for the last time at 79-78 off Mungcal’s triple, with less than 30 seconds remaining in the match. Mungcal earlier canned four free throws and Bobby Vargas had a field goal to keep LBT Appraisal afloat, while Blue Haus drew two baskets from Mendoza and one each from Moises and Guiab to stay in the game.

Guiab later rescued Blue Haus, as he got the ball in the paint and drew a foul on Mungcal. After making the important charities, Guiab and company hung tight on defense, preventing LBT Appraisal from having the last say in the close match.

Blue Haus 80 – Guiab 24, Mendoza 17, Moises 16, Santos 10, Diaz 7, F. Palacios 4, Fernandez 2.

LBT 79 – Mungcal 20, Ocampo 16, Alipio 15, Vargas 9, De Guzman 8, Catalla 6, Pangelinan 5.

Scoring by quarters: 18-10, 35-22, 53-55, 70-70, 80-79, OT.