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Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Socsksargen cage title debut successful
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The Socsksargen Basketball League (SBL) Inaugural Conference opened here last Saturday with a great bang as the trio of the initial games was played as if in the finals.
An overflowing crowd cheered and jeered at the pre-opening game between host Dole Juicers and visiting Tampakan Copper at the Dole Gym in Polomolok town, South Cotabato that was staged as part of the 43rd Foundation Anniversary of Dole Philippines that day.
A formidable team to beat in the newly born and only truly commercial basketball league in town, the Dole Juicers under the guidance of head coach Jun Allera exploited its home court advantage to nail down the Tampakan Copper, 109-97.
The combined shooting skills of Juicers Rugie Cyril Sulla and Ralf Duran, towering presence of hunk Gabriel Maloloyon, and dribbling ability of Michael Etrata was enough to shake the miners to the bone as the quadro delivered 61 points in all.
Sulla who played forward sunk 20 points while point guard Etrata posted 18 markers including three from behind the arc. Duran produced a triple three out of his 15-point mark.
But Juicer Orlando Nacorda who popped up at the fourth canto jabbed 11 in less than 10 minutes - the most productive in the game.
On the other hand, almost three-fourth of the scores registered by the Sagittarius Mining Incorporated-owned Tampakan Copper was penned only by the quadro of Joven Almacin (21 points), Jovani Alih (19), Kenneth Lusuegro (17) and Kim Madera (13).
For a team however that was badly in need of good shooters, the six-point markers made by Armyne Biclar all from the 15-foot line is already impressive. Tampakan Copper Coach Jun Padal vowed to do more shooting drills for his boys to recover the early loss when it was set to tangle with the Royals in Tuesday's 5:30 p.m. assignment at the Dole Gym.
In the second elimination game following the formal opening ceremonies held at the Oval Plaza covered court in General Santos City, the more exposed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Del Rio Resort under the tutelage of coach Renato "Boy" Guadalupe shown its fangs to scare the newly reorganized Royals, 97-87.
The triumvirate of highwaymen Syrus Anthony Silorio, Julius Sabijon and Rico Ramos delivered a tremendous 64 points by dominating the closely fought first half.
Hoteliers Jojo Andayran, Ernie Gonzaga, Dodoy Dadivas, Nilo Pialago and Reynaldo Anito combined 68 points to carry a good but suppressed fight in the first three quarters, 28-22, 46-45, 73-70.
American coach Pastor Douglas Sisson is scheduled to devote his last three coaching sessions with the Royals before going home with his family for a mandatory seven-month furlough from his ministry work.
Meanwhile, the early encounter between bitter rivals St. Elizabeth Hospital's The Rebels and Mindanao Medical Center's Medex provided an early preview of the possible championship games to come.
In that third elimination game of the SBL Inaugural, the Medex under coach Greg Miranda grabbed its ninth win over The Rebels since they started tangling last year, 81-78.
The Rebels, personally coached by Team Governor Antonio "Tony Boy" Veneracion, and the Medex under Team Governor Dr. Francisco Jose "Kit" Campos sew-sawed all the time and wrapped up the first three quarters 26-24, 37-40 and 55-61.
Both teams drew a breath-taking last 20-second scenario that put everybody including those in the bench, the table and the bleachers at the edge. The Rebels was a point ahead, 78-77, when it committed a foul under a penalty situation that allows the Medex to sink two charities amid wild cheers from the crowd.
A last second fast break drive by Emmanuel Aquino upon receiving a fast forward pass following a closely guarded inbound from the baseline had sealed the victory for the Medex.
Meanwhile, the Sarangani Migs of the Alcantara-owned Sarangani Agricultural Company Inc. (Saci) was scheduled to have its SBL debut against host Dole Juicers at the second assignment Tuesday.
Head coach Eddie Tingson has taken advantage of its late showing to fine tune his newly rebuilt squad after losing six boys to other teams earlier this year.
In his statement of SBL's purpose during the opening ceremony, SBL Board Chairman Tony Boy Veneracion promised the return of big time basketball in the entire South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani Provinces and General Santos City or the so-called Socsksargen growth area.
For his part, City Youth and Sports Development Board Vice Chairman Clement Asencio, promised to make available the facilities of the City Government to ensure the success of SBL.
After he left and while the game between DPWH-Del Rio Resort and Royals was in progress, the tipsy electrician assigned at the Oval Plaza covered court cut off some power lines that shut down half of the bulbs, the sound system, the computerized electronic scoreboard, and the live broadcast coverage.
The incident was embarrassing in the light of Mayor Acharon's earlier expression of support to SBL after learning from Veneracion that the League aims to promote business and to provide new sources of income through commercial basketball tournaments.
A total of eight teams including the not-yet-playing I-Cloud Company, Ltd. under Team Governor Nestor Mercado have joined hands with the SouthPhil Arts and Sports Promotion to form the SBL early last month.
Months of painstaking preparation have paved the way for the fast formation of SBL as the only commercial basketball club in town.
The SBL Inaugural Conference enjoys the support of the Philippine Long Distance and Telephone Company (PLDT), the Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc., the Philippine Institute of Technology (PIT) and D. C. Ciudad Merchandising. (Press release)
(June 21, 2006 issue)
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