FTMP boosts playoff hopes

Funky Town Monkey Pimps improved its playoff chances, following a 76-75 win over Dream Team in the boys division of the 2013 Sun Palace Christmas Basketball Tournament last Monday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

FTMP withstood Dream Team’s second-half rally to eke out the 1-point win and move up to an even 4-4 record for fourth place in the six-team field. Only the Top 4 teams will advance to the playoffs and with Rollers 1 (8-1), Rollers 2 (7-2), and Rollers 3 (7-2) securing the first three semis berths, FTMP is left to battle the last ticket against Rollers 4 (3-5). Dream Team and Rollers 5 are out of the playoff race as they hold 0-7 and 0-8 records, respectively.

Four of the only five players who suited up for FTMP finished in twin digits to deny the all-female crew of Dream Team entry to the win column. Tristan Montes had 29 points, Dai Lixing added 15, and Kautong Omengkar and Alvin Francisco chipped in 14 apiece. All four drained one basket each in the homestretch to thwart Dream Team with Lixing making the last and insurance baskets .
Kyla Ito led Dream Team’s losing cause with her 23 points, while Lilly Williams and Irish Pagarao contributed 15 apiece.

Rollers 1 69, Rollers 3 64
In other results, Rollers 1 took the solo lead after defeating Rollers 3 in the third and final game of the night.

Prince Factor anchored Rollers 1 to victory, as he scored 20 points, including 3 of the team’s last 5 points. Mike Arciaga and Jaron Ano provided enough support, adding 18 and 12, respectively.

The trio combined for 28 points in the first half to lift Rollers 1 to a 33-29 advantage. Factor had two triples to start the first half, but was held to only one field goal in the majority of the opening frame. He then bounced back in the second half, firing timely baskets that halted Rollers 3’s repeated comeback bids.

Rollers 3 remained afloat after converting four straight triples in the closing minutes of the match. Christian Morales had 17 for Rollers 3, which also drew 16 points from Wilfredo Francisco.

Rollers 2 86, Rollers 5 59
In the curtain-raiser, Rollers 2 bombarded Rollers 5 with treys en route to the 25-point win.
Rollers 2 nailed 17 triples with Mike Espinosa and Jun Fidelino alternately hitting shots beyond the arc. Fidelino finished with 36 points, with 33 of them coming from downtown, while Espinosa logged 34 and had five triples. Mike Cenir was the third double figure scorer for Rollers 2 with his 13 markers.

With Fidelino and Espinosa on fire, Rollers 2 built a 57-29 halftime lead. Rollers 2 drilled 14 triples in the first half against only four from Rollers 5, which got 17 and 14 points from Ylac Caracut and Emmanuel Cobacha, respectively.

First Game
Rollers 2 86 – Fidelino 36, Espinosa 34, Cenir 14, Subang 1.
Rollers 5 59 – Caracut 17, Cobacha 14, Yu 9, Dela Cruz 6, Mamaril 5, Tengco 4, Pangelinan 3.
Scoring by halves: 57-29, 86-59.

Second Game
FTMP 76 – Montes 29, Lixing 15, Omengkar 14, A. Francisco 14, Del Rosario 2.
Dream Team 75 – Ito 23, Williams 15, Pagarao 15, Javier 6, Alegre 6, Abrams 6, Pena 2.
Scoring by halves: 40-33, 76-75.

Third Game
Rollers 1 69 – Factor 19, Arciaga 18, Ano 12, Yu 9, Camacho 3, Pangelinan 2.
Rollers 3 64 – Morales 17, Rios 16, Francisco 11, Cruz 9, De Luna 5, Kwon 4.
Scoring by halves: 33-29, 69-64.