Ol’Aces, Ali’i Blue Haus set title series

The Ol’Aces’ Douglas Schmidt drives to the baseline against the Runnin’ Rebels’ Shane Deleon Guerrero, partly hidden, and Kelvin Fitial during the fourth quarter of their semis game in the island-wide caging last Tuesday night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Ol’Aces and Ali’i Blue Haus arranged their finals series in the 2016 Island-wide Men’s Basketball League after prevailing in their respective semis matches last Tuesday night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Ali’i Blue Haus rallied past the Ballers in the curtain-raiser, 75-64, while the Ol’Aces pummeled the Runnin’ Rebels in the second Final Four pairing, 98-59. The Ol’Aces and Ali’i Blue Haus begin their best-of-three title showdown tonight at 7pm, while Game 2 is set for this Saturday at the same time. Game 3, if necessary, will take place on June 7.

The Ol’Aces eased their way to the finals as they caught the Runnin’ Rebels flat-footed in the first quarter. The second finalists took a commanding 30-10 advantage after the opening canto behind the 11 points of Douglas Schmidt. The Ol’Aces gunner fired up his team’s offense by knocking in three early triples. Six other Ol’Aces players also scored in the opening 10 minutes of play to more than double-up the Runnin’ Rebels’ output. Only Juan Ogarto nailed more than a field goal in the Runnin’ Rebels’ slow start after burying a triple and making a layup.

The Runnin’ Rebels picked up their scoring a bit in the second half, but they failed to neutralize the Ol’Aces offense, as the latter even stretched their lead to 25 at the break, 51-26. Freddie Pelisamen took over from Schmidt, firing 8 points in the second canto.

The Ol’Aces went on to keep their big lead, as Schmidt returned in the second half and poured in more points, while Preston Basa began hitting shots from downtown to deliver the killer blows.

Schmidt paced the Ol’Aces with his 27 points, while Pelisamen and Basa chipped in 13 each.

While the Ol’Aces hammered the Runnin’ Rebels right at the get-go of their semis game, it was a different story for Ali’i Blue Haus.

The first finalist fell behind in the first three periods and even stared a double-digit deficit at halftime before mounting a comeback in the fourth to steal the win from the Ballers.

The Ballers enjoyed a 40-29 halftime lead and were still on top at the end of the third, 52-47, but eventually lost the semis match when Angelo Fernando led Ali’i Blue Haus’ rally in the final frame. Fernando, who was held to 6 points in the first three periods, had 10 in the final canto and drew a lot of help from his teammates to overhaul the Ballers’ lead.

Ivan Devero had 6 of his 7 markers in the pivotal fourth, while Darwin Barbo, Elmer Esdrelon, Bart Demapan, and Brendon Talania combined for 12 points—the same output the entire Ballers’ crew made in the fourth-quarter meltdown.

The Ballers were held to six field goals in the fourth frame with only Ken Viray and Chris Lilles nailing more than one field goal for the squad. Each scored 4 points, while Dexter Tenorio and James Villacrusis recorded 2 markers apiece. Viray had earlier finished the half with 15 points to lift the Ballers to the 11-point edge at the half before his team collapsed.

First Game
Ali’i Blue Haus 75 — Fernando 16, Barbo 11, De Dios 8, Demapan 8, Esdrelon 8, Devero 7, Manalo 6, Berline 5, Talania 2.

Ballers 64 — Viray 22, Villacrusis 14, Ferrer 8, Lilles 6, Camacho 4, Pagarao 4.

Scoring by quarters: 7-18, 29-40, 47-52, 75-64.

Second Game
Ol’Aces 98 — Schmidt 27, Pelisamen 13, Basa 13, Villacrusis 7, Deleon Guerrero 7, Rabauliman 7, Santos 6, Libus 5, Lizama 4, Barcinas 4.

Runnin’ Rebels 59 — Reyes 14, Lisua 11, Deleon Guerrero 10, Fitial 5, Ogarto 5, Camacho 4, Mettao 4, Pangelinan 2.

Scoring by quarters: 30-10, 51-26, 71-41, 98-59.