Grillin’, Shirley’s boost playoff bids

 Grillin’ and Shirley’s kept their playoff hopes alive after notching separate wins in the 3rd Annual Shirley’s Coffee Shop Invitational Basketball League last Sunday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

Shirley’s took its second win in eight games without lifting a finger against Wushin, which was forced to forfeit the important match after having only three players available at the curtain-raiser. Wushin, which missed players who thought they were scheduled to play in the second game, finished the regular season with a 2-7 record for 10th place and is likely to get the boot in the 10-team field, as only the Top 8 teams will advance to the playoffs

Grillin’ shares Shirley’s 2-6 record and is in a three-way deadlock for seventh to ninth place with GPPC, following a 99-86 victory over Hyatt Regency Saipan.

The three tied teams have one game left in their schedule and these matches are crucial in their playoff chances. Shirley’s will face GPPC in the first game on Thursday, while Grillin’ will collide against front-runner Mobil in the second match. If Shirley’s and GPPC win, they will march into the playoffs, joining Mobil (7-1), DFS Galleria (6-2), Fiesta (6-2), Pacific Islands Club/NVM (6-2), PSS/McGraw-Hill (5-3), and Hyatt (3-6).

A GPPC win coupled with a Grillin’s loss will move the former to the next round and leave the latter in a stalemate with Shirley’s for the eighth and last playoff berth. A Shirley’s victory and Grillin’ defeat will tie the latter with GPPC. In case of a two-way tie, Shirley’s caging organizer Boy Lingcaso said the league will implement a win-over-the-other rule to decide the winner of the last playoff seat.

Grillin’ remained in contention for a playoff ticket after a hot shooting in the fourth quarter where it outscored Hyatt, 38-20. Before its fourth-quarter explosion, Grillin’ fell behind at the end of each of the first three quarters.

Hyatt started the fourth with a 66-61 lead and quickly lost it when Lerio Pagarao, Leo Galarse, and James Kintz teamed up in Grillin’s blazing run. Galarse scored 13 of his 18 points in the fourth period, while Pagarao and Kintz chipped in 10 apiece. Pagarao led all scorers with 36 points, while Kintz played his best offensive game so far this season, tallying 24.

Christian Devero and Bernardo Aquino top-scored for Hyatt with four points each. They made four markers apiece in the opening canto and six other Hyatt players also contributed in the team’s 27-25 lead. Pagarao kept Grillin’ afloat after the first period with his 11 points.

In the second canto, Nate Mateo drilled nine of his 14 markers, upping Hyatt’s lead to 45-40 at halftime. Then in the third, Hyatt converted three triples to keep its distance with Grillin’ before the latter launched a big fourth-quarter rally and steal the game.

Grillin’ 99 – Pagarao 36, Kintz 24, Galarse 18, Ritual 12, Hernandez 5, G. Loste 2, J. Loste 2.

Hyatt 86 – Devero 17, Aquino 17, Mateo 14, Castro 9, Arreza 6, Durant 6, Umali 5, Alipio 5, Tumaquip 4, Palacios 3.

Scoring by quarters: 25-27, 40-45, 61-66, 99-86.