RBC Mini-Rascal tourney opens with a bang

  The U10 and U12 Rascals along with the U14 Rebels came out victorious against separate opponents as the Rollers Basketball Club’s Mini-Rascals Basketball Tournament tipped off last Tuesday at the Garapan Basketball Court.

Tuesday’s opener marked RBC’s first-ever youth tournament of its kind, where full court five-on-five action took place on a smaller court.

The dimensions of the court were shrunk as portable baskets were moved on to the Garapan court. The height of the rims were lowered to allow more competitive matches between youth players.

The U10 Rascals survived the Little Rebels, 18-16, in overtime; the U12 Rascals routed the Mini-Rebels, 30-18; and the U14 Rebels clipped the Bombers, 35-33.

Little Rebels’ Taiga Sato and Meko Quiambo each bagged a couple of buckets for a slim, 8-6, edge at halftime, but Rascals’ Taka Borja led a second half push with 6 points that locked the game at 16-all at the end of regulation.

Rascals’ Ichiro Borja then played the hero’s role by scoring the only basket in overtime.

He led the Rascals with 8 points, while Rebels’ Quiambo topped the class with 10 in defeat.

U12 Rascals’ Emmuel Cabocha stole the show in the second pairing by almost single-handedly matching the Little Rebels’ total team output.

Cabocha tallied 10 points in the first half as his team built a stout 18-8 halftime lead and finished the second frame with another 8 markers en route to the easy win.

Mimi-Rebels’ Angelo Factor managed 6 points to lead his squad, but Cabocha’s hot hands delivered 18 in the runaway.

The U14 Rebels, meanwhile, clung to a 14-13 lead in the first half of the last matchup with Zion Alamer pacing the team with 6 points.

Bombers’ Ed Cudia came alive in the clutch with 9 points, but Rebels’ Angelo Factor came off the bench with a huge baker’s dozen that made the difference in the end.

Factor buried a pair of 3-pointers for a 10-point string early in the period and followed it up with three free throws late in the game that helped seal the deal.

Factor ended up leading his team in points, one-upping teammate Alamer, while Bombers’ Cudia and Adrian De Luna teamed up for 23 on the short end.

There was another set of matches held last night; details of those pairings will be released Saturday.

The season continues in Garapan on Tuesday with U10’s Little Rebels taking on the Young Guns at 5pm followed at 5:40pm by U12’s Rascals against the Young Guns. Then at 6:20pm, U14’s Bombers meet up with the Rollers.

U10

Rascals 18 – Ichiro 8, Dan’ce 4, Shan 2, Borja 2.

Little Rebels 16 – Quiambo 10, Sato 6.

Scoring by halves: 6-8, 16-16, 18-16 (OT).

U12

Rascals 30 – Cabocha 18, Caracut 4, Mamral 4, Dela Cruz 2, Itaas 2.

Mini-Rebels 18 – A. Factor 6, Qui 4, Tam 4, T. Factor 2, Ohtha 2.

Scoring by halves: 18-8, 30-18.

14U

Rebels 14 – A. Factor 13, Alamer 12, Ellama 6, Tam 2, Lavape 2.

Bombers 33 – Cudia 13, De Luna 10, Subang 6, Flores 4.

Scoring by halves: 14-13, 35-33.