Easy Eats, Old School rally to victory

Old School gunner Ed Pangelinan was hailed Player of the Game in the masters division of the United Filipino Organization IT&E 2019 Basketball League last Sunday. He is seen here posing with league organizers. (Contributed Photo)

Easy Eats The Game and Old School rallied from early deficits to win their respective matches in the continuation of the United Filipino Organization IT&E 2019 Basketball League last Sunday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

In the first game, Old School went down early against Saimar Pilot-HRP in the masters division before mustering a comeback in the second half to win going away, 90-74.

Led by the 13 quick points of do-it-all forwards John Santos and Bogs Dayrit, Saimar Pilot raced to a 22-10 advantage in the first quarter. Only center Romeo Grimpula showed any semblance of resistance for Old School with 4 points in the opening 10 minutes of the game.

Saimar Pilot continued to lead Old School at the start of the second quarter, but the latter began to gain some headway with the insertion of hulking center Ed Cosino in the period.

The 6’3” former semi-professional player in the Philippines turned back the hands of time by scoring all of his 9 points in the second quarter. Jorge De Guzman also showed he still has a bounce on his step by adding 6 points, as Old School trimmed their deficit to just 2 points, 39-41, at the half.

It was an all-new ballgame as the third quarter ensued, as Old School relied on its gunners Ed Pangelinan and James Abuy to totally outplay a stunned Saimar Pilot side.

Abuy riffled in 8 points, including two from downtown, and Pangelinan fired 7, with one connection from beyond the arc, as Old School took control of the game and lead by 3 points, 58-55, going into the fourth and final quarter.

It would go from bad to worse for Saimar Pilot in the last 10 minutes of the contest. It turned out that Pangelinan was just warming up in the previous quarter, as the marksman went on to pour 13 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth. De Guzman and Abuy also joined in the action with 6 and 7 points, respectively, in the payoff period as Old School gave Saimar Pilot a neat lesson in making a comeback.

Abuy and De Guzman back-stopped Pangelinan’s stellar showing with 19 and 12 points, while Santos paced Saimar Pilot’s losing effort with 22 markers. Melvin Villarin was the only other Saimar Pilot player to register double figures with 13 points.

The win improved Old School’s win-loss record to 4-1, while the loss dropped Saimar Pilot to 3-1. The two teams are chasing the unblemished 5-0 record of league-leading Blue Haus.

In the second game, Eats Easy The Game of coach Clint Albert completed a similar comeback in the open division after outdueling Vision RNV, 80-75.

Elmer Esdrelon and Tristan Cosino started the fireworks for Vision RNV as the two combined for 12 points allowing their team to take a 23-19 spread after one quarter of play.

Eats Easy The Game showed some signs of life in the second quarter as Joe Sablan scored 5 and Jun Fidelino 4 and they were only down, 34-39, at the half. Ehrol Peredo pumped in 4 points to keep Vision RNV’s head above water in the second.

The tide eventually turned against Vision RNV in the third, as Kerwin Dayao started to heat up, scattering 16 of his 18 points in the period to give Eats Easy The Game a 60-55 advantage after three quarters of play. Peredo again tried to play the hero’s role for Vision RNV with his 7 points in the third.

It was anybody’s ballgame in the fourth and final quarter, but Sablan joined hands with Arnold Arellano as the two combined for 18 of Eats Easy The Game’s 22 points in the period to finally wrestle the game away from Vision RNV.

Sablan paced Eats Easy The Game with 22 markers, while Dayao and Arellano had 18 and 15, respectively. Esdrelon had 18 points in defeat, while Peredo and Cosino altogether totaled 29.

The win was the fifth and six games for Eats Easy The Game, while Vision RNV limped to a 2-3 win-loss card.

First Game
Old School 90 – Pangelinan 23, Abuy 19, De Guzman 12, Cosino 9, Camacho 9, Grimpula 6, Pablo 3, Borja 2, Pambid 2, Montano 2, Tolentino 1.
Saimar Pilot-HRP 74 – Santos 22, Villarin 13, Tolentino 8, Dayrit 8, Rasa 8, Usi 6, Echavez 3, Jinang 3, Guinto 3, Singca 2.
Quarter scores: 10-22, 39-41, 58-55, 90-74.

Second Game
East Eats The Game 80 – Sablan 22, Dayao 18, Arellano 15, Javier 10, Fidelino 6, Abobo 5, Torregoza 2, Cabaltica 2.
Vision RNV 75 – Esdrelon 18, Peredo 17, Cosino 12, Rueda 10, De Dios 6, Guiab 6, Devero 4, Taraya 2.
Quarter scores: 18-23, 34-39, 60-55, 80-75.