Isaiah stuns Samuel; Ezekiel advances

Ezekiel’s Don Teregeyo, second left, drives against Caleb’s Angelo Hernaez during their playoff game in the Genesis Cup last Monday night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Winless in the regular season, Isaiah notched its first victory in the 5th Genesis Cup Christian Churches Inter-Color Basketball League at the expense of the top-ranked Samuel, 60-51, last Monday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The upset did not only put Isaiah on the win column, also but gave the team a semifinals berth, while Samuel, which finished the round-robin elimination with a 6-1 record, is out of contention.

Isaiah’s giant killing at the start of the playoff round was made possible with the absence of Samuel quarterback and top-scorer Mark Cando, who is off-island. Cando averaged 24.3 points in six games in the elimination round, posting his season-high 34 markers in their 75-61 rout of Ezekiel and tallying 26 markers in his farewell match last month (against Gideon).

Cando’s absence clearly left a big void on Samuel’s offense, as the regular season top finisher was held to 21 points in the first half, while Isaiah had 33 to build a double-digit lead.

Mike Manalang and Oliver Gragasin teamed up in lifting Isaiah to a 12-point advantage at the break as the former drilled 9 of his 11 markers in the first half and the latter chipped in 8. Three other Isaiah players scored in the first half for the squad’s balance offense.

As for the depleted Samuel, no one from its eight-player roster hit more than two field goals in the opening 20 minutes of play.

In the last 20 minutes, Samuel continued to struggle offensively, while Gragasin delivered the killer blows for Isaiah en route to finishing with a game-high 24 points, way ahead of the output (11) of Samuel top scorer Darwin Gonzales.

Meanwhile, the fourth-seeded Ezekiel joined Isaiah to the semifinal round following a 52-49 victory against the fifth-ranked Caleb in the second playoff match last Monday.

Ezekiel knocked in a couple triples in the second half to counter the successive baskets of Caleb’s Angelo Hernaez and pull off the 3-point win.

Job Samonte buried three of Ezekiel’s four shots from the parking lot in the second half, including one in the homestretch. Victor Formales converted the other triple, while Dan Toribio and Arvin Bacani also hit clutch baskets, combining for 6 of Ezekiel’s last 9 markers.

Samonte finished with a team-high 12 points, while Don Teregeyo and Toribio were the other double figure scorers for Ezekiel, tallying 11 and 10, respectively.

Hernaez was the lone twin-digit scorer for Caleb, registering 28. He recorded 14 of Caleb’s first 16 points in the second half to keep Ezekiel within striking distance. However, he clearly lacked support from his teammates, especially in the closing minutes where he had only John Lizardo backing him up, while four different players scored for Ezekiel.

Meanwhile, the two other quarterfinal games in the adults division were played last night with Gideon scheduled to face Joshua in the curtain-raiser and Jeremiah slated to meet Daniel in the second match.

The quarterfinal games were originally scheduled last week, but were called off due to heavy rains that left the Ada gym flooded. Sports coordinators of the participating teams and league commissioner Noel Puno then dried up the court last weekend to push through with Monday’s pair of matches.

First Game
Isaiah 60 — Gragasin 24, Manalang 11, Tenepere 9, Estanislaco 6, Santos 4, David 4, Labaovas 2.
Samuel 51 — Gonzales 11, Brillo 10, Badal 9, Robles 8, Francis 6, Reyes 5, Lopez 2.
Scoring by halves: 33-21, 60-51.

Second Game
Ezekiel 52 — Samonte 12, Teregeyo 11, Yang 10, Formales 8, Bacani 6, Marilla 4, Cruz 1.
Caleb 49 — Hernaez 28, Lizardo 6, Dequito 4, Joson 3, Castro 2, Gabaldon 2, Gozon 2, Henzon 2.
Scoring by halves: 22-19, 52-49.