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Saturday, July 08, 2006
Juicers, Rebels vie for top eliminations post in Socsksargen games
GNERAL SANTOS CITY -- The St. Elizabeth Hospital Rebels won its fifth outing Thursday to qualify for a square off with the Dole Juicers for the top elimination slot in the penultimate game of the ongoing Socsksargen Basketball League (SBL) Inaugural Conference on Saturday at the Oval Plaza covered court here.
With no less than Team Governor Antonio “Tony Boy” Veneracion in command, the Rebels dumped Tampakan Copper 93-74 in the first game Thursday night to tie with the Dole Juicers at four wins and one loss.
Meanwhile, the Sarangani Migs under Head Coach Eddie Tingson had its first taste of victory and broke the highest individual score when it tripped off the Royals 91-71 in the second match last night. The win resulted to a 1-4 tie with half-sister Tampakan Copper.
The Alcantara-controlled Sarangani Agricultural Company, Inc. (Saci) owned the Sarangani Migs, while the Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) where the Alcantara and Sons, Inc. is a stakeholder formed the Tampakan Copper.
No less than Sarangani Governor Miguel Rene “Migs” Dominguez, a scion of the Alcantara clan and a SACI executive from whom the Sarangani Migs has been named after, reportedly shook off the squad before it faced the Royals of the East Asia Royale Hotel.
Sarangani Migs’ 5’11 center Jack Mamalumpong broke the previous 29-point record to establish the new league-high individual game score of 34 – all taken within the shaded lane.
The 46-year old 6’0 forward Redentor Polistico combined his 20 including a double three with the 14 of the previous highest pointer Anthony Timon to equal Mamalumpong’s harvest.
The Hoteliers under the tutelage of Alternate Governor and Head Coach Jonathan Tayoto was trailing behind the Banana Growers from the beginning, 24-17, 40-31, 64-52, 91-71. It had the opportunity to force deadlock but only twice early in the game at six-all and eight-all.
In the first assignment, the Tampakan Copper, with Assistant Coach Pastor Reden Dili at the helm in the absence of Head Coach Jun Padal, was leading in the first three quarters, 22-20, 42-37, 63-60, until the Rebels overtook it for the fourth and last time early in the “ultimo canto”, 66-65, and never looked back again.
Tampakan’s 6’4 center Kim Madera, suffering a wide cut in the left eyebrow when accidentally hit with an elbow in the first 10 seconds of the game, committed two errors in a row at the start of the fourth that triggered the Rebels’ 11 to two rally, 71-65, courtesy of Christopher Yong, Reggie Baleroso and Rany Balbero.
The Miners’ Jovani Lanuza fired back a two but the Rebels replied with another 11 within some two minutes, 82-67, before finally closing at 93-74 with Resty Bustamante helping Yong and Baleroso in the basket.
Overall, it was Yong, Baleroso and Bustamante who converted most attempts for the Hospital Crew all within the field goal area with 21, 18 and 14 points apiece.
On the other hand, previous highest pointer Joven Almacin and the 6’3 Indonesian descent Jovani Alih continued to be the main scoring machines for the Sagittarius Mines-owned squad with their respective 22 and 16 markers.
Cyrus Fernandez and Lanuza contributed 10 each for the Miners in the absence of three-point reigning king Mikhael Fernandez.
The results of Thursday night’s twin games put both the favorite Dole Juicers and the Koronadal City-based Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Del Rio Resort in precarious situation. A win by the Juicers would force a triple tie among the Rebels, the Medex and the DPWH-Del Rio Resort that unfortunately suffered its only two losses at the hands of both hospital-based squads.
Since a triple tie dispute in the elimination round under the original format should be settled via quotient system, the Highwaymen would automatically settle in the fourth rank of the elimination and therefore would be forced to engage the Royals, Sarangani Migs and Tampakan Copper in a wildcard quarter final phase for the fourth slot in the semi-final.
A win by the Rebels however would also compromise the Dole Juicers who suffered a 20-point lost at the hands of the Highwaymen at Tampakan hoophouse Sunday. Its 11-point victory over the Medex Tuesday would not be enough to offset Medex’s 15-point final lead over the Koronadal City squad during their June 22 encounter at Calumpang here.
Against that backdraft, the Juicers would be compelled to throw all weapons in the arsenal against the Rebels to prevent itself from sinking to the quarter final that would afford the top three teams a week-long recess.
The Rebels can’t also afford to take it easy, as a second or third rank position in the semis would be harder to hurdle than the top post that would be assigned to face the weaker fourth rank squad.
Even as the champion of the SBL Inaugural Conference has nothing to bring home but a trophy and its everlasting prestige, there is still no reason for both camps to take the final battle of the elimination at ease.
How they scored:
1st Game
Rebels – 20-37-60-93: Yong 21, Baleroso 18, Bustamante 14, Balbero 8, Gomez 7, Credo 5, Lamanilao 5, Pineda 4, Roda 3, and Angeles 3.
Tampakan Copper – 37-42-63-74: Almacin 22, Alih 16, C. Fernandez 10, Lanuza 10, Paclibar 6, Ejorcadas 5, Lusuegro 3, Biclar 2, Nadera 0, and Caballes 0.
2nd Game
Sarangani Migs – 24-40-64-91: Mamalumpong 34, Polistico 20, Timon 14, Pordios 8, Alih 5, Uayan 4, Sarcauga 3, Lape 2, Pagay 1, Badong 0, Talisay 0, and Tingson 0.
Royals – 17-31-52-71: Latabe 14, Tabanao 10, Chagas 9, Gonzaga 7, Andayran 6, Anito 5, Pialago 5, Sale 4, Olarte 4, Reblingca 4, Silva 3, and Alvior 0. (Press release)
(July 8, 2006 issue)
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