Jake’s Catering vs Island Manpower in DLX finals

Island Manpower and Jake’s Catering set their finals date in the 2015 DLX Invitational Basketball League after beating separate opponents last Wednesday night at the Gualo Rai Basketball Court.

Jake’s Catering’s White Capalad looks for a teammate to pass the ball to as he is cornered by Eye Sees’ Jim Damatan, right, and Christopher Muleta, partly hidden, during the fourth quarter of their playoff game in the DLX caging last Wednesday at the Gualo Rai Basketball Court. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Island Manpower nosed out SSFM/New Garapan Market in the curtain raiser, 82-80, while Jake’s Catering outclassed Eye Sees in the nightcap, 75-68. Island Manpower and Jake’s Catering hold similar 2-0 records in the semifinal round heading into today’s last pair of playoff matches and are already assured of the final seats for tomorrow’s championship game, as SSFM and Eye Sees fell to identical 0-2 marks. The Top 2 teams in the round-robin semis get the finals tickets. Jake’s Catering and Island Manpower will close out the semis round in their finals preview tiff at 8pm, while SSFM and Eye Sees will try to save a win in a no-bearing game at 6:30pm.

Syl Teregeyo brought Island Manpower to the finals after making the game-winning basket in the closing seconds of their neck-and-neck game against SSFM. Credit half of the basket to Jun Tabora, who found and fed Teregeyo in the paint after a series of players movements in the shaded lane.

After Teregeyo’s getaway, SSFM sued for time to map out either a game-tying basket or a winning shot in the last six seconds of the match. When the game resumed, SSFM quarterback Sean Rabasto opted for a 2-pointer, but his right baseline jumper rimmed out, eliminating his team in the finals race.

It was a sorry loss for SSFM, which entered the fourth quarter with a 65-58 advantage before Teregeyo rescued Island Manpower. He knocked in 18 of his 28 points in the payoff period, while Jerome Norita also helped out in the fourth, logging 4 of SSFM’s last 6 markers. Norita finished in twin digits with his 18. Djay Ong led the Mike Espinosa-less SSFM, registering 27.

Meanwhile, Jake’s Catering took control of its game against Eye Sees in the second half and hung in there to march into this Saturday’s finale.

The match was still tied at the end of the first quarter 22-all, when Jerald Rivera gave momentum of the game to Jake’s Catering as he drilled 9 of his 14 points in the second and nearly matched Eye Sees’ total output.

Ron Gamboa picked up where Rivera left off, wrapping up the second canto with a triple and beginning the third with another trey, while adding 6 more points off layups to pad their lead to 15, 65-50, going into the final frame. In the fourth period, Jake’s Catering ran down the clock to preserve the lead, while Eye Sees fired blanks to kiss its finals bid goodbye.

First Game
Island Manpower 82 – Teregeyo 28, Norita 18, Lizama 10, Palacios 10, Tabora 6, Rangamar 6, Tobias 2, Barrozo 2.

SSFM 80 – Ong 27, Velasco 18, Rabasto 16, Bisana 16, Salazar 2.

Scoring by quarters: 19-18, 39-38, 58-65, 82-80.

Second Game
Jake’s Catering 75 – Gamboa 21, Rivera 14, Capalad 13, Rejano 8, Dayrit 6, Manalo 5, Montano 2.

Eye Sees 68 – Manzano 25, Directo 12, Muleta 10, David 8, Paulo 4, Espinosa 4, Orbeta 3, Damatan 2.

Scoring by quarters: 22-22, 43-32, 65-50, 75-68.