Pepoy’s outlasts Ol’Aces in masters caging

Pepoy’s Cafe & Restaurant players are all smiles after nipping Ol’Aces, 80-79, in the masters division of the 2nd Annual Saipan Centennial Lions Basketball League last Friday at the Civic Center Basketball Court in Susupe. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Pepoy’s Cafe & Restaurant averted a complete collapse to beat a determined Ol’Aces crew, 80-79, in the masters division of the 2nd Annual Saipan Centennial Lions Basketball League last Friday at the Civic Center Basketball Court in Susupe.

Leading by 12 points at the start of the fourth and final quarter, Pepoy’s Cafe & Restaurant was blitzed by Ol’Aces’ full-court press and nearly succumbed to their fastbreak attack. 

Led by ageless point guard Elias Rangamar, the team from Oleai slowly gnawed at their deficit before grabbing the lead on a short stab by Benny Joab, 77-75, with less than 2 minutes left in the game.

Rangamar then found Derrick Tudela for another easy bucket to give Ol’Aces more breathing room, 79-75, with less than a minute to go.

Pepoy’s Cafe & Restaurant wasn’t finished by a long shot though as Bryan Natividad got free for a 3-pointer on a screen and an assist by Clint Albert to make it 78-79 moments later.

After several fruitless attempts by Ol’Aces, Pepoy’s Cafe & Restaurant got the rebound and Natividad drove to the basket before dishing it off to a wide open Mike Mamaril who calmly banked the shot in for an improbable 80-79 lead.

Ol’Aces had several chances to take back the lead with 17 seconds left in the game, but Pepoy’s Cafe & Restaurant players kept tapping the ball out with the last loose ball going out of bounds as time expired.

Pepoy’s Cafe & Restaurant took the initiative early, buoyed by the hot shooting of James Villacrusis they took a 26-18 lead after the first quarter.

Freddie Pelisamen then asserted himself in the second canto, scoring a bunch of fastbreak baskets and pull-up shots to momentarily sway momentum to Ol’Aces. 

A last-minute push by Pepoy’s Cafe & Restaurant, however, gave them a 43-39 lead at the halftime break.

Natividad found his rhythm in the third, knocking a number of triples as Pepoy’s Cafe & Restaurant controlled the pace and entered the payoff period up by a dozen. 

But that lead proved not safe in the face of Ol’Aces’ comeback that was ultimately foiled by Pepoy’s Cafe & Restaurant own uprising in easily the best game of the young season in the masters division.

Natividad led Pepoy’s Cafe & Restaurant with 19 points, while Villacrusis and Mamaril chipped in 18 markers and 13 markers, respectively, for the now 2-1 team.

Pelisamen led all scorers with 33 points with Rangamar adding 13 points for Ol’Aces, which dropped to 2-2.

In the second game, JTM Saipan got 18 points from guard Ryan Bayna and 14 points from center Jonel Broncono to defeat Puerto Rico Bento, 79-75.

After a slow start that saw Puerto Rico Bento lead, 14-11, after the first 10 minutes of play, JTM Saipan took the reins, leading 38-32 and 56-53 in the middle quarters to win its fifth game in six outings.

Puerto Rico Bento, which absorbed its second loss in four games, was paced by the 21 points of Coby Santos and 15 points of Darryl Foronda.

Last Thursday, Martech-Ol’Aces kept its unbeaten streak at 4-0 after routing now 0-5 Checkpoint International, 71-45, in the open division. 

In the masters division, Blue Haus improved to 3-0 following its 78-70 win over Blue Eagle/Royal Pacific, 78-70. The latter dropped to 1-2 in the standings.

First Game
Pepoy’s 80 – Natividad 19, Villacrusis 18, Mamaril 13, Camacho 12, Martin 9, Rabago 4, Galulu 2, Mina 2, Ebuen 1.
Ol’Aces 79 – F. Pelisamen 33, Rangamar 13, George 8, Iginoef 6, B. Pelisamen 5, D. Joab 5, Tudela 5, B. Joab 2, Rengul 2.
Scoring by quarters: 26-18, 43-39, 67-55, 80-79. 

Second Game
JTM Saipan 79 – Bayna 18, Broncano 15, Velasco 10, Rodriguez 7, Ferrer 7, Monteverde 6, Bernardo 6, Ruiz 5, Romo 4, Cruz 2.
Puerto Rico Bento 75 – Santos 21, Forondo 15, Mintac 11, Galang 10, Hipolito 5, Estimado 4, Reyes 3, Leon 3, Antonio 3.
Scoring by quarters: 11-14, 38-32, 56-53, 79-75.