San Antonio rules DL Corp. caging

San Antonio’s Mike Arciaga loses his balance as he drives and rams into the defense of Hite Jinro’s Jason Lampkin during the fourth quarter of their title game in the DL Corp. caging last Sunday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

San Antonio earned a sizable lead in the third canto and withstood Hite Jinro’s late rally in the fourth to rule the nine-team league.

Kobe Mendoza turned things around for San Antonio in the third, leading a crucial 13-2 run midway in that canto. Before the rally, San Antonio was holding on to a 4-point cushion, 43-39. Mendoza scored 8 points in that spurt, including three straight baskets to lift San Antonio to a 56-41 advantage, while Hite Jinro was without a field goal for more than four minutes and got the 2 points from Kevin De Leon’s free throws. A layup from Tristan Montes at the 2:09 mark of the third ended Hite Jinro’s drought, but San Antonio still had a strong finish to preserve the double-digit spread, 65-49.

San Antonio went on to keep its safe distance against Hite Jinro in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, as the latter could not find the right combination, hit its outside shots, and launch a long rally to mount a major comeback. Hite Jinro’s longest scoring run was at 8 points and it shot poorly from downtown with Zack Babauta missing at least five and Deleon and Chris Mizer muffing a couple more. Hite Jinro’s frontliners also struggled against the small, but aggressive and quicker San Antonio players.

Despite having a tough night in the second half, Hite Jinro made one final effort to keep its title hopes alive, bringing the deficit down to single digits after Mizer canned a pair of charities, 68-77, 2:59 left on the clock. However, Hite Jinro committed turnovers in their next three possessions, while Prince Factor and Mike Arciaga countered with getaway layups to seal it for San Antonio.

Factor ended up top-scoring for San Antonio with his 18 points, while Mendoza drilled 17. Veteran Darwin Barbo also had double figures with his 12, while Jaymark De Guzman chipped in 12. De Guzman also hit a crucial basket that halted Hite Jinro’s rally, as he beat Rolly Paraiso in the battle for the rebound after teammate Jack Aranda missed a corner jumper and went for a putback. Paraiso was also called for a foul and later drew a technical for too much complaining. De Guzman missed the bonus charity and the two technical free throws, too, but San Antonio regained possession and got two charities from Arciaga in the ensuing play for a 77-63 advantage, going into the last four minutes of the match.

The finals win was redemption for San Antonio, which was unbeaten in the elimination of Season 3 only to lose in the semifinals against TBK Mechanics.

Meanwhile, deposed champion Island Floral settled for the third place honors after routing Saipan Ice in the consolation game, 106-86,

Jerome Norita, who missed what could have been the game-winning trey in their semis game against Hite Jinro last Friday, poured it all in the third place battle as he sizzled for 34 points. Derrick Aguon added 24, making up for his 2-point production in their 75-77 loss to Hite. Jun Tabora also stepped up in their last game of the season, contributing 21 markers.

Jack Lizma paced Saipan Ice with his 26 points, while Derrick Rangamar logged 23.

First Game
Island Floral 106 – Norita 34, Aguon 24, Tabora 21, Bisana 12, Tobias 6, Diaz 6.

Saipan Ice 80 – Lizama 26, Rangamar 23, Kaipat 10, Pena 9, R. Saralu 6.

Scoring by quarters: 30-13, 50-44, 78-68, 106-80.

Second Game
San Antonio 85 – Factor 18, Mendoza 17, Barbo 13, De Guzman 12, Espinosa 9, Arciaga 6, Aranda 2, Feria 2.

Hite Jinro 70 – Mizer 18, Paraiso 14, De Leon 9, Lampkin 8, Montes 7, Lauron 3, Tenorio 2.

Scoring by quarters: 12-15, 36-28, 65-39, 85-70.