Lob City, MCS ease past foes

Mt. Carmel School’s Louisa Han stops her dribble as she faces two Chow Time defenders during the second half of their game in the Tan Holdings holiday caging last Saturday at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Lob City and Mount Carmel School registered lopsided wins in the 2015 Tan Holdings Christmas Basketball Tournament last Saturday at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

Lob City routed Panty Droppers in the curtain-raiser, 55-34, to notch its first win in two games, while MCS claimed its second victory after three matches following a 39-21 triumph over Chow Time in the second women’s division pairing last weekend.

With its 18-point win, the Lady Knights moved up to solo second place in the team standings behind unbeaten Sun Palace (2-0), while Chow Time is still at the bottom of the six-squad field with its 0-3 slate. Panty Droppers, Lob City, and Kagman Poksu are tied for third to fifth place with their similar 1-1 marks.

Mt. Carmel dominated Chow Time in the first half, leading at 24-4, to set up the rout. Jan Travilla gave the Lady Knights a good start, as she nailed the team’s first 6 points, while the rest of her teammates took over in the remaining minutes of the opening half.

For the third time, Chow Time’s inability to score early cost the team another game. Only Kimmy Ocampo hit the board for Chow Time in the first half with the guard knocking in the squad’s first field goal past the halfway mark of the opening period.

Chow Time picked up its scoring in the second half, but it was not enough to save the team from absorbing its third defeat in as many matches.

In the first game, Lob City also built an early double-digit lead, 29-13, and kept its safe distance to bounce back from a 28-44 debut loss to Sun Palace.

Four Lob City players tallied double figures in their first win with Jeraldine Castillo leading the way with her 17 points. Kyla Ito chipped in 12, while Mikky Kautz and Madi Alegre added 10 each.

Castillo found her mark in the first half, scoring 17 points with 9 of them coming from downtown. She ended the opening half with back-to-back triples to lift Lob City to a 16-point halftime advantage. Ito picked up where Castillo left off, drilling 10 of her 12 markers in the second half, while Alegre contributed 8 to power Lob City to the 21-point win.

First Game
Lob City 55 – Jeraldine Castillo 17, Ito 12, M. Kautz 10, Alegre 10, Alferos 4, Jeralyn Castillo 2.

Panty Droppers 34 – Pena 10, Rogoyawa 10, Francisco 8, Abadilla 4, Dalusong 2.

Scoring by halves: 29-13, 55-34.

Second Game
MCS 39 – Manibusan 11, Travilla 10, Villagomex 7, Han 4, Flores 3, Chinen 3.

Chow Time 21 – C. Avelino 6, R. Avelino 5, Francisco 4, Ocampo 4, Cubangbang 2.

Scoring by halves: 24-4, 39-21.