Ferrera gains second semis berth

Ferrera Builders marched into the semifinals of the U18 division of the 2015 San Antonio Community Action Network Basketball League after beating the Sonics, 67-59, last Sunday at the San Antonio court.

Ferrera Builders’ Jun Castro draws contact against two Sonics defenders during the fourth quarter of their playoff game in the U18 division of the San Antonio caging last Sunday at the San Antonio court. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Ferrera joined outright qualifier GMI Market in the Final Four, while the Sonics have to beat the loser between the Judith’s Warriors-KB Market playoff tiff to make the cut. GMI Market took the first and outright semis berth after sweeping the round-robin regular season, while Judith’s Warriors and KB Market fought for the third Final Four seat last Sunday and results of the match were unavailable at press time.

The battle for the second semis ticket was decided in the fourth quarter with the Sonics folding up due to its numerous errors and wayward shots.

Down by only a deuce, 42-44, just two minutes into the final canto, the Sonics suddenly saw themselves behind by twin digits, 46-56, as Ferrera turned the former’s miscues and off the target shots into points in the next five minutes of play.

Four different Ferrera players teamed up in the short 12-4 rally with center Jun Javier hitting two point-blanked shots, Chico Bondoc nailing an undergoal stab, and his older brother Franco converting two free throws. Jun Castro completed the rally with a pair of charities and earlier he made a difficult shot as he chased the ball down the baseline and saved it before pulling up for a fadeaway jumper that hit nothing but the net and wowed the crowd.

Ferrera was never threatened from thereon, as the Sonics continued to play erratic basketball, while Chico put the finishing touches in their playoff win, knocking in 6 more points and collaring a couple of offensive rebounds.

Chico ended up tallying 20 points to back up the 22 of Castro. Bryan De Guzman was the lone double figure scorer for Sonics with his 10 markers and he and the rest of his teammates received a dressing down from their coaching staff for collapsing in the payoff canto.

Islander 71, Ask Y U B 61
The Islander spoiled Ask Y U B’s bid for the top spot in the East Group of the open division after posting a 10-point win.

Ask Y U B is done for the regular season, finishing the round-robin pool play with a 5-2 record for a tie for second place with the Sonics and behind solo leader MJD Enterprise (5-1). The Islander is still in third place with its 4-2 mark, while KB Market (2-4), Maplas (1-3), Triple J Motors (1-4), and 5-Star (0-5) complete the field.

All eight teams will advance to the playoffs with the Top 4 squads facing the lower-ranked teams in the next round of matches.

Kelvin Fitial and Prince Factor teamed up in giving the Islander its fourth win as they combined for more than half of the team’s total output with the burly forward firing 24 points and the former Marianas High School standout adding 22. Dixon Kwon also provided some help to the Islander’s cause, chipping in 13.

U18 Division</strong
Ferrera 67 – Castro 22, C. Bondoc 20, Javier 8, Leyco 8, F. Bondoc 7, Tabora 2.