Consolation for Feds’ Gamboa, McCain

Feds’ do-it-all guard Ronnel Gamboa and big man Ken McCain earned some consolation after clinching individual awards in the 2014 IT&E-DYS Inter-government Basketball League last Friday night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Gamboa, the other half of the Feds’ 1-2 scoring duo that includes Leo Apelo, earned the regular season Most Valuable Player honors and was named the best player with the quickest hands as he averaged five steals per game.

The Feds’ Ronnel Gamboa, left, is guarded by Department of Community and Cultural Affairs’ Tim Wesley in their semifinal match in the 2014 IT&E-DYS Inter-government Basketball League last week at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. Gamboa was named the regular season Most Valuable Player and earned the best in steals award serving as consolation to the Feds after it lost to NMSA in the finals. (Jon Perez)

McCain was the league’s top rebounder as the Feds’ center, towering at 6’9”, plucked 15 per contest.

Department of Community and Cultural Affairs also had two players getting individual awards with Edgar Pangelinan named as scoring champ with his 30-point per game average and Tim Wesley notching the top shot blocker award after norming 6 every match.

Northern Marianas Sports Association veteran court general Elias Rangamar rounded out the individual awardees as he was the league’s top passer, issuing 5 assists per game.

In the team awards, the Feds won the pennant after a league-best 6-1 record with the Frank Flores-coached squad’s only loss coming from DCCA, 71-65, on Oct. 20, snapping the team’s three-game winning run.

Commonwealth Health Center, which dropped its first 6 games before scoring a breakthrough 62-57 win over the Department of Public Safety on Nov. 5, was awarded the sportsmanship trophy.

From left, the Feds’ Ronnel Gamboa, Leo Apelo, Ken McCain, Haejoon Park, and Juan Camacho, pose for a photo after receiving the runner-up trophy in the 2014 IT&E-DYS Inter-government Basketball League last Friday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Jon Perez)

NMSA took the perpetual trophy after beating the Feds in overtime in Game 1 of the finals, 79-75. NMSA swept all of its three matches in the double-elimination playoffs to clinch the first finals berth and the twice-to-beat edge that went with it, while the Feds trashed DCCA in the other semis game, 84-49.

The NMSA Spartans, thanks to the hot shooting of Preston Basa—not Ben Jones as earlier reported—and Ezra Caro’s end-game heroics, completed a come-from-behind win over the Feds in the title match after falling behind by 9 points in the last 2:11 of the regulation.

Basa led NMSA with his 22 points behind five 3-pointers, while Caro tallied 10 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. Apelo paced the Feds with 24 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 7 steals, while Gamboa backed him up with 22 and McCain tallied 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 assists and blocked 4 shots.