Twin wins for 670 Sonics in Diaz youth caging

A 670 Sonics player, right, is pressured by RT Law NMI Rollers defenders during the second half of their boys U15 division game in the Diaz youth caging last Tuesday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The 670 Sonics and 670 Sonics XVIII recorded contrasting victories in the 2018 Frank M. Diaz Memorial Youth League at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

In the boys U15 division, the 670 Sonics withstood the RT Law NMI Rollers’ repeated comeback bids to eke out a 46-39 win last Tuesday, while the 670 Sonics XVIII cruised past the Chinatown Titans in their boys U18 match last Monday, 64-30.

The 670 Sonics XVIII broke away in the third period to set up the 34-point winning margin. Already up by a baker’s dozen at the break, 33-20, 670 Sonics XVIII pounced on the hapless Titans in the third period for a commanding 52-29 advantage.

Sean Apasan and June Alipio did the damage for the 670 Sonics XVIII in the pivotal third period after scoring 6 points apiece, while Jude Tengco chipped in 4. Tengco ended up top-scoring for the 670 Sonics XVIII with his 12 markers, while Apasan also finished in twin digits after tallying 11.

Meanwhile, in the boys U15 game, the 670 Sonics showed poised in the homestretch to beat the RT Law NMI Rollers.

The 670 Sonics lost a double-digit lead, 36-31, with a little over four minutes left, but after wakeup call from coach Zachariah Johnson, the squad answered with an 8-0 scoring run to take the fight out of the RT Law NMI Rollers. A putback from John Rizo started the short rally and he hit another shot inside the paint, while Dan Puri and Brayn Bernardo contributed one field goal each to bring their lead back to twin digits, 44-31.

The RT Law NMI Rollers then made one final push, scoring 6 straight points off the 670 Sonics’ errors, but ran out of time, as they knocked in their baskets with less than a minute left in the game.

The RT Law NMI Rollers had to mount a comeback in the second half after falling behind by as much as 14, 30-16 early in that period. Ervin Villarin then scored 5 consecutive points to bring the deficit to single digit, 21-30, down to the halfway mark of the second half.

However, Bernardo countered with back-to-back baskets to widen the gap anew before the RT Law NMI Rollers fought back anew, but fell short in the end.

Francisco and Bernardo recorded 12 and 10 points for the 670 Sonics, while Villarin led the RT Law NMI Rollers with his 16 markers.

Boys U15
670 Sonics 46 — Francisco 12, Bernardo 10, Rizo 6, Kim 6, Caruana 4, Galang 4, Junior 4.
RT NMI Rollers 39 — Villarin 16, Kapwich 10, Torres 4, Cruz 3, Factor 3, Castro 2, Salas 1.
Scoring by halves: 22-14, 46-39.