Ol’Aces beat Kagman in U18 finals

The Ol’Aces’ Edmund Borja pulls up for a one-hander against Kagman Riserz’s Mike Muna during the third quarter of their title game in the U18 division of the Diaz youth caging yesterday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Ol’Aces were crowned champions in the U18 division of the Inaugural Frank M. Diaz Memorial Youth League following a 53-44 victory against the Kagman Riserz yesterday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The Greg Iginoef and Preston Basa-coached Ol’Aces began controlling the winner-take-all finale early in the third quarter and held on against Kagman’s repeated rallies to complete an upset in the playoffs. The fifth-ranked Ol’Aces won the division crown by stunning their higher seeded foes, beginning with their 87-84 triumph over the fourth-ranked Rollers White and followed by their 72-55 victory over the No. 1 seed 670 Sonics in the semifinals.

In the finals, the Ol’Aces were pitted against the second-seeded Kagman Rizers and the opposing teams engaged in a close fight in the majority of the first half before the eventual champions gained momentum in the third period.

The Ol’Aces were clinging to a 23-22 with less than two minutes gone by in the third when Edmund Borja and N-nes Siech teamed up in an 11-2 scoring spurt to lift their team to their first double-digit spread, 34-24. Edmund started the rally with a layup off a pass from older brother Ignacio, while N-nes knocked in back-to-back jumpers. Edmund then had its own string of points off a triple and another layup, while Kagman’s lone field goal in the nearly five-minute letdown came from Mel Sakisat’s deuce.

Roke Tenorio made two straight baskets after he reported to the game, while Andrew Palino had his first basket in the second half to slice the deficit to 4, 30-34. However, the Ol’Aces had a 9-4 windup off a triple from Greg Sablan, two field goals from Napu Atalig, and one from Siech to keep their safe distance, 43-34, entering the final canto.

The Ol’Aces managed to protect their lead in the fourth quarter, but were a bit threatened with less than two minutes left in the match as Kagman trimmed the deficit down to 5, 42-47, after Dizon Magofna knocked in a banked triple from the right key. A miss from the Ol’Aces gave Kagman a chance to move closer, but Sakisat took a hurried triple and muffed the shot.

Two straight baskets from Atalig sealed the win for the Ol’Aces with less than a minute remaining in the match, while Kagman faltered on two more 3-point attempts and made only a two-pointer off Tenorio’s layup. Ignacio Borja then put the exclamation point on the Ol’Aces title win, beating the buzzer as he tapped the board while going for a layup.

Atalig top-scored in the finals with his 16 points while the Borja brothers combined for 23 with Ignacio tallying 12 and Edmund adding 11. Siech also finished in double figures with his 10, while Sakisat led Kagman with his 13.

Meanwhile, Rollers Blue settled for the third place honors after downing the 670 Sonics in last Friday’s consolation match, 64-60.

Aaron Ogumoro paced Rollers Blue with his 23 points, while Jun Alipio, Angelo Factor, and Jude Tengco tallied twin digits too with 13, 12, and 10 markers, respectively. Djay Ong had 13 markers to lead the Sonics.

Finals
Ol’Aces 53 — Atalig 16, I. Borja 12, E. Borja 11, Siech 10, Sablan 4.

Kagman 44 — Sakisat 13, Tenorio 12, Palino 8, Magofna 5, Jones 4, Muna 2.

Consolation
Rollers Blue 64 — Ogumoro 23, Alipio 13, Factor 12, Tengco 10, Babauta 2, Cobacha 2, Mendoza 2.

670 Sonics 60 — Ong 17, Fidelino 12, Kintaro 11, Rios 10, De Guzman 7, Castro 3.