GMJ/IKKI advances to semis

GMJ/IKKI Wholesale’s Elgene Mangali, left, fakes off the defense of Ask Y U B’s Brady Hammond, right, and Keoni Chariton, partly hidden, during the closing minutes of their playoff game in the San Antonio caging last night at the San Antonio court.
(Roselyn B. Monroyo)

GMJ/IKKI Wholesale is a win away from another finals appearance in the 2015 San Antonio Community Action Network Basketball League following a 65-60 victory against Ask Y U B in their playoff match last night at the San Antonio court.

The win moved GMJ/IKKI to the semifinals where it will face Pacific Islands Club. The victor in the GMJ/IKKI-PIC semis tiff will then challenge Blue Haus for the overall championship.

GMJ/IKKI suited up for the knockout match with a complete 12-man lineup and drew contributions from all of their players to eliminate the slow-starting and depleted Ask Y U B, which played without Alex Standish, Josh Sablan, Marvin Rabauliman, and Don Brennan.

With Ask Y U B missing some key players and showing some rust for taking a break for more than two weeks, it fell behind by double-digits after the first period. Ask Y U B scored only 5 points in the first 10 minutes of play, while GMJ/IKKI ran a better offense, drilling 15 with five different players scoring for the eventual winners. Ask Y U B was held to one field goal in the opening canto, courtesy of Jethro Cruz’s basket, while Djay Ong, Sidney Quan, and Keoni Chariton added one free throw apiece.

Ask Y U B picked up its scoring in the second canto behind Cruz and Quan, but GMJ/IKKI kept the driver’s seat at the break, 32-29, thanks again to its balance offense. Six players hit the board for GMJ/IKKI in the second canto.

GMJ/IKKI continued to spread the wealth at the start of the second half to bring the lead back to 10, 54-44, entering the fourth period.

In the final canto, Ask Y U B managed to make a little headway with Cruz finally connecting from downtown. He knocked in three straight triples, while Chariton gave Ask Y U B its fourth consecutive trey in the final canto to cut the deficit to 5, 58-63, going into the final two minutes of the match.

Ask Y U B then had a chance to move closer, but Ong and Cruz muffed their 3-point attempts, while Brady Hammond and Quan faltered on point-blanked shots in the ensuing plays. Quan’s last miss came with less than 30 seconds left on the clock and GMJ/IKKI was ahead by 5 after a pair of free throws from Chris Esteves, 65-60. Quan had a steal and went straight to the basket, but overshot his mark, while Brady failed to control the offensive board and lost the ball to the baseline.

GMJ/IKKI regained possession and did a good job moving away from Ask Y U B defenders, who were desperate to give up a foul to stop the clock. Chariton finally held down Marlon Angeles, but only 3.2 seconds were left on the clock. Angeles missed both charities, leaving the scores unchanged, as neither team was able to nail a basket in the closing seconds.

Elgene Mangali top-scored for GMJ/IKKI with his 12 points, while eight of his teammates contributed at least 4 points each. Cruz paced Ask Y U B with his 18 markers, while Ong chipped in 17. Only five players made it to Ask Y U B’s box scores.

Meanwhile, the date of the GMJ/IKKI-PIC semis duel will be announced later. PIC barged into the semis after downing east division champion Islander. A GMJ/IKKI win will set up the team’s rematch against Blue Haus, which lost to the former in the west division finals early last month.

GMJ/IKKI 65—Mangali 12, Dizon 8, Borja 8, Barrios 6, Esteves 6, Villacrusis 5, Oyola 5, Ferrer 4, Camacho 4, Sison 3, Litulumar 2, Cortez 2.

Ask Y U 60—Cruz 18, Ong 17, Quan 14, Camacho 6, Chariton 5.

Scoring by quarters: 15-5, 32-29, 54-44, 65-60.