Islander sets up finals date vs MJD

Islander’s Prince Factor and Kelvin Fitial hound Maplas’ Rommel Usi, while Alex Lauron stays close for more help defense during the fourth quarter of the semis game in the east division of the San Antonio caging last Tuesday night at the San Antonio court. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Islander arranged a title showdown against MJD Enterprises for the east division crown after ousting Maplas, 89-74, in last Tuesday’s playoff match in the 2015 San Antonio Community Action Network Basketball League at the San Antonio court.

Islander took full control of its semis match against Maplas in the second half to notch the second and last finals berth in the division, while Maplas was booted out of the competition due to its free throw woes.

Ahead by only 8 at the break, 39-31, Islander made it a double-figure lead by the end of the third after getting contributions from every player it fielded in the game. Four Islander players scored at least 4 points each in the third canto, while three more also hit the board to give their team a baker’s dozen lead, 62-49,

Islander’s advantage ballooned to as much as 18 early in the fourth quarter, 72-54, forcing Maplas to start making a move to overhaul the big deficit. Maplas, which came off an upset win against the Sonics in the quarterfinals, became aggressive on offense and in the process drew a lot of fouls from Islander.

Three Islander players went on to get disqualified from the game due to five fouls and Maplas made repeated trips to the foul line. However, Maplas muffed one free throw after another, allowing Islander to keep its safe distance.

No official free throw tally was listed on the score sheets, but league volunteers noted that Maplas missed at least 30 charities with majority of them committed in the fourth quarter.

Ironically, a free throw conversion by Jun Rueda off an and-1 play finally trimmed Islander’s lead to single digit, 72-8, with 1:58 left on the clock.

However, that was the closest that Maplas could get, as Kelvin Fitial secured the victory in the ensuing play with a layup and two charities. Maplas went on to keep the double-digit winning margin after Diwon Kwon and Dexter Tenorio added two more field goals, while the losing squad managed to score only 2 points off his 2-for-4 shot from the foul line.

Fitial paced Islander with his 28 points, while Prince Factor and Alex Lauron chipped in 18 and 13, respectively. Kwon also finished in twin digits with his 11 markers. Rueda registered 30 points for Maplas, which got 22 from Kennedy Viray, while Richard Villaueva had a quiet 11 markers.

Meanwhile, the date for the Islander-MJD title match has yet to be announced as the league took a holiday break last weekend.

Islander 89 – Fitial 28, Factor 18, Lauron 13, Kwon 11, Manibusan 7, Malonzo 6, Tenorio 4, Diaz 2.

Maplas 74 – Rueda 30, Viray 22, Villanueva 11, Mungcal 5, Jumaquio 2, Reyes 2, Usi 2.

Scoring by quarters: 13-15, 39-31, 62-49, 89-74.