KB Hite, Blue Haus win Masters opener

KB Hite and Blue Haus opened their bid in the 2015 Graphics Invitational Masters Basketball League with double-digit winning margin against separate opponents last Sunday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

Blue Haus and Bammy’s Restaurant kicked off the hostilities in the 45-and-above league that allowed each team to be reinforced by three 40-and-above players with the former bagging an 82-70 victory. In the second game, KB Hite topped Saipan Warriors, 95-85.

A KB Hite player is pressured from the backcourt by a Saipan Warriors defender during their game in the opening day of the Graphics Masters caging last Sunday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

KB Hite leaned on a strong start in the fourth quarter to establish its biggest lead at 16, 81-65, and withstood the Warriors’ late rally to win its debut.

Ahead by only 6 at the end of the third period, 71-65, Edgar Pangelinan anchored KB Hite’s 10-0 scoring in the first three minutes of the fourth period, knocking in 8 straight points off back-to-back triples and a fastbreak layup.

With KB Hite pulling away, Saipan Warriors sued for time and when the game resumed they launched their own rally, an 10-2 blast, to bring the deficit down to single digit, 75-83, with 5:05 left on the clock. However, KB Hite answered with another spurt—a short 7-0 run—to put the game away for good. Marlon Sison scored 4 in that rally off a triple and a free throw, while Pangelinan also split his charity, and Randy Mungcal nailed a layup before failing to complete a three-point play.

Pangelinan top-scored for KB Hite with his 30 points, while Sison added 25, as the two shooters torched the hoops with their triples, combining for 12 shots beyond the arc.

In the first game, Blue Haus recovered from a slow start to beat Bammy’s Restaurant.

Blue Haus faced a 16-22 deficit after the first period before getting its act together in the remaining three quarters en route to the 12-point victory.

Blue Haus grabbed the lead at the break, 38-31, after picking up its scoring a bit in the second frame, while holding Bammy’s to 9 points. Seven different players hit the board for Blue Haus in the second canto, while only three had field goals for Bammy’s.

Junar Guiab led Blue Haus’ balance offense, firing 18 points, while Ernie Moises and Matt Buenabajo chipped in 15 and 10, respectively. Three other Blue Haus players contributed at least 7 points each. Alex Ocampo had 25 markers to pace Bammy’s, which drew 19 from Jun Tabora. Jorge De Guzman was the third Bammy’s player to hit double figures with his 10 points, but he was scoreless in the second half, allowing Blue Haus to maintain its safe distance against its foe.

First Game

Blue Haus 82–Guiab 18, Moises 15, Buenabajo 10, Santos 9, Fernandez 8, Mendoza 7, Factor 4, Macoto 4.

Bammy’s 70–Ocampo 25, Tabora 19, De Guzman 10, Alipio 5, Saplan 4, Catalla 2.

Scoring by quarters: 16-22, 38-31, 58-53, 82-70.

Second Game

KB Hite 95–Pangelinan 31, Sison 25, Mungcal 10, Duenas 8, Yalung 4, Pineda 4, Montes 3, Garcia 2.

Saipan Warriors 85–Miguel 17, Geli 17, Del Rio 14, Alano 8, Catindoy 8, Surima 6, Lopez 4, Abadilla 3, Salazar 2.

Scoring by quarters: 18-15, 48-41, 71-65, 95-85.