Blue Haus pounds Motion Auto in Masters finale

Blue Haus played no let up in the Masters division finals of the 2015 United Filipino Organization to ease past Motion Auto, 100-67, last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Blue Haus’ Edwin Santos is fouled by Motion Auto’s Art Montes during the third quarter of their Masters division title game in the UFO caging last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The 33-point winning margin was a fitting finale in Blue Haus’ stellar season, which was highlighted by a perfect record in seven games. Blue Haus duplicated its feat in the 2013 season where it went unbeaten in 12 matches en route to stealing the championship from 2012 winner Armatech.

Blue Haus drew solid games from Edsel Mendoza and Tony Diaz, and got ample contributions from Ernie Moises and Junar Guiab to walk away with its second straight Masters crown in the same league. Mendoza had a game-high 26 points, while Diaz tallied 24 to make up for half of Blue Haus’ total production. Moises chipped in 13, while Guiab contributed 12.

Moises, Diaz, and Mendoza delivered the early telling blows for Blue Haus, as the trio combined for 26 in the team’s pivotal 34-14 scoring surge in the second quarter. Moises knocked in 11 points in the breakaway, Mendoza nailed 8, and Diaz registered 7.

Before Blue Haus’ second-quarter explosion, Motion Auto was just facing an 8-point deficit at the end of the first period, 17-25. Motion Auto kept Blue Haus within striking distance in the opening canto after drawing back-to-back triples from Miso Usi early in the game and getting points from four other players.

Marlon Sison matched Usi’s two triples in the second period, but that was the last shots from downtown that Motion Auto would hit, as it failed to match Blue Haus’ offensive firepower in the second frame.

The second canto ended with Blue Haus enjoying a huge 59-31 advantage and despite its wide margin, the eventual champion did not sit on its laurels in the second half. Blue Haus kept pounding on Motion Auto, both on offense and defense as if the former was the one on a deep hole. Players on the bench were overheard telling their teammates to pretend the lead was just single digit and they must pour in more to take the game away for good.

The match was eventually out of Motion Auto’s reach early in fourth with the lead ballooning to as much as 36 points, 85-49. Mendoza then put the finishing touches on Blue Haus’ lopsided victory, scoring the team’s last 8 points with 6 of them coming from beyond the arc.

Blue Haus 100 – Mendoza 26, Diaz 24, Moises 13, Guiab 12, Buenabajo 6, Santos 6, F. Palacios 6, Patawaran 5, Factor 2.

Motion Auto 67 – Guiang 13, Galulu 11, Viola 10, Usi 9, Sison 6, Mateo 6, Yalung 4, Montes 4, Balgos 4.

Scoring by quarters: 25-17, 59-31, 81-49, 100-67.