Ol’Aces, Dolphins rule LibDay caging

The Ol’Aces and the Marianas Dolphins downed their respective foes to rule their divisions in the finals of the 2015 Liberation Day Basketball Tournament last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The Elias Rangamar-coached Ol’Aces dealt the Rebels an 86-50 beating to clinch the Open division crown while the Dolphins topped the juniors side after a 65-25 drubbing of the Marianas Tataga.

The Ol’Aces, after posting a 17-11 lead after 10 minutes of play, used 9-5 scoring spurt to erect the first of several double-digit leads, 26-16, midway in the second period. They settled for a 40-31 halftime bubble.

Jerry Diaz’s back-to-back running jumpers had the Rebels threatening at 44-39 with 5:41 left in the third.

But they went scoreless after that while the Ol’Aces closed out with 14 straight points for a 58-39 advantage heading into the fourth canto.

Dixon Kwon’s loss added to the Rebels’ woes as the wiry guard got accidentally hit by Ignacio Borja’s elbow in a rebound play. Coach Joe Diaz quickly replaced Kwon, who was seen holding his bleeding nose while sitting on the bench.

The Ol’Aces just cruised from there against an undermanned Rebels side.

Borja led the Ol’Aces with 20 points followed by the 15, 14, and 13 markers of Jack Lizama, C.J. Rogolifoi, and Preston Basa, respectively. Dan Barcinas scored 10 more.

Alex Lauron led all scorers with 22 while Prince Factor tallied 13 with Diaz and Y.J. Nakayama adding six markers each. Ervin Malonzo fired blanks all game long after draining a 3-pointer early in the second quarter.

In the juniors division, the Dolphins were merciless against the Tataga.

The Dolphins jumped the gun on the Tataga and quickly built a double-digit spread after one quarter, 18-7.

They were never threatened from there as the Dolphins scored in bunches and capitalized on every Tataga miss and error to complete the one-sided match.

Christian Arceo led the Dolphins with 18 markers while Jun Alipio and Jude Tengco contributed 12 and 11 apiece.

Roger Valencia was the lone double-digit scorer for the Tataga with 13 while Joseph Kisa, Elijah Quiroz, and Matthew Richardson tallied 4 points each.

Scores:
Junior
Marianas Dolphins 65—Arceo 18, Alipio 12, Tengco 11, Cobacha 6, Dancoe 6, Mamaril 6, Dela Cruz 3, Ogumoro 3.

Marianas Tataga 25—Valencia 13, Kisa 4, Quiroz 4, Richardson 4.

Scoring by quarters: 18-7, 39-12, 53-15, 65-25.

Open
Ol’Aces 86—Borja 20, Lizama 15, Rogolifoi 14, Basa 13, Barcinas 10, Iguel 9, Deleon Guerrero 5.

Rebels 50—Lauron 22, Factor 13. Diaz 6, Nakayama 6, Malonzo 3.

Scoring by quarters: 17-11, 40-31, 58-39, 86-50.