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Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Ballpals trip Subokin Eagles in double OTs
By Lynde Salgados
TWENTY points going down the drains. Searing comeback. Torrid exchange of baskets. On-court flares. Tension-filled moments. Heart-breaking slip-up. Double overtime. Unexpected protest.
These all manifested the continuing saga of the storied Ballpals-Subokin rivalry in the local cage front.
In what seen as a classic bout on Sunday night's culmination of Southland caging's elimination round at the Bulua gym here, Ballpals Defenders again turned down the challenge of Subokin Green Eagles in a dramatic finish that was decided only after two gut-wrenching overtime plays, 117-114.
It was such a painstaking defeat for the wards of Claveria town mayor Rocky Calingin who took a commanding 20-point lead at the half behind the guns of Boning Biongcog, Balong Lagbas, Thirdie Cui and Valdehueza.
In fact, premature celebration marked across the faces of the Green Eagles seemingly unmindful of the lurking danger awaiting them of which Ballpals used to unleash in previous conquests of their hottest inter-club rival.
Rivera's night
The guard-forward tandem of Jaime "Diding" Rivera and Jerez Abacahin keyed Ballpals' fierce comeback with their booming treys that even put Subokin in the receiving end of the regulation period.
Then ensued unlikely lapses from both camps that could either make or break the game in the subsequent two 5-minute extension periods.
Acaylar, who erupted for 29 points against Thurs-Sun, yielded to fatigue as he missed a couple of game-winning freethrows.
Biongcog's hurried ball-flick with only 3 ticks left also rimmed out. And there were similar situations where Ballpals and Subokin failed to complete a fatal breakaway from as much as 6-point spread with the time on their side.
Finally, luck smiles on Ballpals in second overtime which saw Subokin's sweet-shooting guard Harvey Neri surprisingly missing terribly on the charity lines.
"Looking back, it was such a classic game. I never expected nga modaug pa `mi after Subokin Green built up 20-point lead in the early goings unya kadto pa g'yong palobo ni Boning with 3 seconds to go sa overtime plus nabiyaan na sab mi'g dako pagsugod sa second overtime," said veteran guard Anton Pabillore who singled out Rivera as their best player of the night.
The much younger Acaylar also acknowledged his senior guard back then at the once-fabled Liceo varsity team as the sparkplug of Ballpals' title-retention bid.
"Diding (Rivera) don't easily get discouraged. Mabuhi among dugo kay grabe gihapon iyang gipakita nga focus ug paningkamot bisan nabiyaan na `mi," Acaylar said, even as he also heaped praises on Biongcog and Valdehueza for putting up a good fight.
Also providing with strong back-up are the youthful duo of Apepe and Jun Pardillo as well as the ageless pair of Pinggoy Castro and Boyet Burias.
Subokin protest
Meanwhile, JP Pabillore treated Subokin's protest to the residence eligibility of Apepe as a non-issue, saying that the former Zambo Hornbills gunner was an alumnus of Corpus Christi high school.
The older Pabillore, who shore up Ballpals' coaching staff in the company of Bonggik's Quikoy, Andit Mendoza and Jetmark Mercado, further explained that Apepe was married to a Cagayanon not to mention his being a bonafide member of the club even seeing action in their past inter-color tourneys at Pelaez Sports Center.
"Ballpals Club don't even mind resorting to winning games by protest. We're basically here to compete and to support the Southland league. No more, no less," Pabillore told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.
Still, Nanni Palacio said the club will comply on the request of Southland project director Alex Medes for them to produce the needed requirements if only to back-up Apepe's legitimacy to play for Ballpals' cause.
"This is not just for Ballpals but the rest of the teams nga wala pa nag-comply sa requirements. We'll come up with a formal letter addressing the problems by Wednesday. Of course, all of the teams participating in the Southland league have the right to protest kon naay ilang nakita," said Medes on the phone.
As expected, Ball Stag Hydraulics won by rout over the winless Chibugai Arsenals, 130-80 to match Ballpals' 4-2 win-loss slate.
Subokin Red triumphed over Thurs-Sun, 98-83 to forge a 3-3 tie with sister squad, Subokin Green.
Barring unforeseen glitches, however, the "win-over-the other" tie-breaking rule would qualify the pacesetting Auto Planet Zoom Masters, Ballpals, Ball Stag and Subokin Green as the top-four teams to advance in the semifinals round.
(August 9, 2006 issue)
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