AACI Farms came from behind and slipped past Organic Solutions 80-77 to capture the Class B title of the Filsino All Asian Countertrade Summer Intercolor Basketball tournament at TTHS Po Hang Gym.
Farms took the 1st quarter 19-13 led by Ralph Richard Tan with 7 points and Sidney Chua with 6 points while Judge Paolo Ariola delivered 6 points for Organic.
The troika of Joeben Tan, Tubby Villanueva and Michael Miranda combined for 17 Farms points to extend the lead of Farms at the break 40-30.
Farms learned their lesson in their last game when Senior Inspector Adonis Rosales scored on several uncontested fast break conversions to give Organic a 19 point lead.
This time around Jason Ong and Chingsan Su took turns in shadowing Rosales. Rosales still top scored for Organic in the 2nd quarter with 6 points and Arvin Chua added 5 points.
Organic rallied to pull within 54-50 at the end of the 3rd quarter due to the exploits of Dan Gustilo with 6 points while Rosales and Arvin Chua had 5 points apiece. Celhelm Uy contributed 6 points for Farms.
Organic took its 1st lead in the game behind the 8-0 blast led by the back to back trey of Clarence Isulat and the fastbreak getaway of Rosales.
Organic kept Farms at bay as Jimmy Yap hit a triple and Isulat continued to sizzle offensively for Organic while Farms relied on the rebounding and lowpost offense of Celhelm Uy, Sidney Chua and Michael Miranda. But Farms can't get over the hump due to poor free throw shooting.
Jason Ong converted on a 15 footer to tie the game at 73 all with 3:15 left. Miranda and Sidney Chua's undergoal stab gave Farms a 4 point lead. The rally coincided with Organic's turn to miss some crucial free throws.
Miranda's two free throws established an 80-74 cushion with 27 seconds left. But there were anxious moments for Farms as they missed 4 free throws while Arvin Chua connected on a triple with 6.7 seconds remaining to cut the lead to three.
After Farms missed both free throws, Isulat attempted a triple but was partially blocked by Ralph Richard Tan as time expired.
Isulat banged in 15 points in the quarter while teammate Rosales was kept in check in the payoff quarter and was limited to 3 points as he was continually hounded by the defensive blanket of Ong and Su alternately.
Sidney Chua scored 10 of his 16 points in the 4th quarter, Celhelm Uy contributed 11 points, Joeben Tan, Ralph Richard Tan and Jason Ong finished with 8 points apiece, Jolly Castillo and Michael Miranda with 7 points each, Tubby Villanueva had 6 points.
Isulat led Organic with 18 points, Rosales and Arvin Chua added 14, Dan Gustilo 7, Judge Ariola 6, Papang Oxinio, David Tan and Jimmy Yap 5 points apiece. (HCV with a report from Stephen Tan)