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Gold Ballers, Empe Light top foes
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Posted on Oct 25 2017
Empe Light Blue’s Sean Rabasto, center, is fouled by the Gold Ballers’ Dan Mateo, left, while the latter’s teammate Dennis Cortez provides help defense during their game last week in the IT&E-sponsored Ali’i Blue Haus caging at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
Emcee Light Blue and Gold Ballers registered contrasting wins in the 2nd Ali’i Blue Haus Invitational Basketball League over the weekend at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.
Gold Ballers eased past Black Mamba last Sunday, 96-64, while Empe Light edged Vendetta last Saturday, 75-72.
Jerome Reyes and Sean Rabasto delivered for Empe Light in the homestretch, combining for the squad’s last 9 points to hand their team its third victory in eight games. Vendetta remained winless in four matches.
Vendetta played catch up right from the get-go, falling behind by 20 after the opening canto, 8-28. Sonny Lerio outgunned the entire Vendetta crew after making 11 points to lift Empe Light to the double-digit lead.
Vendetta then cut the deficit to a manageable number after the third period with Raymark Castro and James Dela Cruz trying hard to keep the team in the game. The duo teamed up for 21 points in the next two quarters, while James Sablan added 7 to bring down Empe Light’s lead to 13, 46-59.
Empe Light eventually lost the twin-digit spread, as it played a bit complacent in the last canto, while Gino Libuw, Dela Cruz, and Sablan attempted to pull off a come-from-behind win, but failed in the end.
Meanwhile, in the Gold Ballers-Black Mamba tiff, the former also got off to a strong start, leading at 30-8, to post the 32-point win.
The Gold Ballers peppered Black Mamba with triples early in the game to establish a sizeable lead. Prince Factor drilled three triples and scored 13 points in the opening canto, while Raymond Velasco and Dan Mateo canned one triple each.
Factor continued his hot shooting in the second period to finish with a game-high 25 points, while Mateo, Velasco, and Dennis Cortez took over in the last two quarters to keep the Gold Ballers’ wide distance.
The Gold Ballers improved to a 2-4 record, while Back Mamba absorbed its second straight loss after a 3-0 start.
