Rollers 4 back on track

Rollers 4 snapped a losing streak, following a 43-38 triumph against Dream Team in the curtain-raiser in the 2013 Sun Palace Christmas Basketball Tournament last Monday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

The Rollers 4, which dropped back-to-back games last week, bowing to Rollers 3, 55-44, and FTMP, 49-53, gained only its second win in the round-robin tournament. The other victory came during the league’s opener when Rollers 4 prevailed over Rollers 5, 42-40.

With its even 2-2 record, Rollers 4 boosted its playoff chance. Only the Top 4 teams will advance to the playoffs after the round-robin play and Rollers 4 is in fourth place behind Rollers 3 (4-1), Rollers 2 (3-1) and Rollers 1 and FTMP, which share third place with their identical 2-1 slates. Dream Team and Rollers 5 complete the field and are in danger of missing the cut with their 0-3 and 0-5 marks, respectively.

Dream Team seemed to have a chance in barging into the win column when it led in the first half, 28-22. Dream Team had a balance offense in the opening 20 minutes of play to threaten Rollers 4, however it failed to sustain its momentum in the second half, missing that elusive first win in the seven-team tournament.

The all-female crew of Dream Team nailed only five field goals in the second half and only Marie Javier scored more than 2 points for the team.

It was Rollers 4’s turn to spread the wealth in the final frame with five of its players hitting at least two field goals apiece. Big man Antonio Santos led Rollers 4’s come-from-behind win, as he made 4 of the team’s last 6 points and capitalized on his advantage in the shaded lane with Dream Team missing center Rachel Abrams.

Hula Girls 64,
Tappers 47
In the second game, Hula Girls remained unscathed after whipping Tappers.
Hula Girls now has a 4-0 record to lead the four-team field, while Tappers is still winless after four matches in the double-round robin girls division contest.

Irish Pagarao anchored anew Hula Girls’ victory, as she exploded for 28 points. Jan Travilla and Joy Pena also finished in double figures, contributing 10 apiece.

Alyanna Joy Garon had 18 to lead Tappers’ losing cause. Her 12 points in the opening quarter lifted Tappers to a slim 25-23 lead at the break. However, Tappers slowly lost the driver’s seat when Garon went cold in the second half, while Pagarao continued to do the damage for Hula Girls.

Pagarao dropped 17 points in the final canto, while Travilla back here up, logging all her points in that period after fruitless effort in the opening half.

First Game
Rollers 4 43 – Santos 8, Sagun 8, Deocares 7, Ellama 5, Iba 5, Yuan 4, Bucayo 3, Espinola 2.
Dream Team 38 – Javier 8, Williams 6, Ito 6, I. Palero4, Pena 3, Alegre 2.
Scoring by halves: 22-28, 43-38.

Second Game
Hila Girls 64 – Pagarao 28, Travilla 10, Pena 10, I. Palero 8, Havier 4, J. Palero 1.
Tappers 47 – Garon 18, Alipio 10, Rogoyawa 8, Francisco 8, Bartolo 2.
Scoring by halves: 23-25, 64-47.