G7: GK Warriors drubs Casarap, 73 - 50

Report by Jun Rana

GK Warriors went toe to toe with Casarap in the first half before unleashing its might in the second half to handle Casarap a 73-50 drubbing. The win gave the Warriors the first birth in the semi-final playoffs and eliminated Casarap in the process.

To the delight of the fans, Casarap gave the Warriors all they could handle in the first half. Early in the game, De Gracia, Yogi Veranga and Leo Yanogacio caught fire to give the Warriors a 20-9 lead with 13 minutes to go in the first half. Everyone thought that the Warriors would pull away in a hurry.

However, Casarap’s team captain Steve Antonio, Paul Valencia and Dexter Quezon had other agenda on their minds and answered back with an 18-11 spurt to reduce the margin to four points at 31-27, with 3 minutes remaining. The Warriors finished with an 8-2 flurry behind Ryan De Gracia, Veranga and Curtis Clemente to finish the first half at 37-29. Casarap’s Antonio has 13 points in the first half but did not score in the second half.

In the second half, an early 6-3 burst put Casarap on striking distance at 40-35. However, this proved to be Casarap’s last stand. A layup by Chris Clemente and a 3 point play by Yogi Veranga pushed the lead back to 8 at 45-37 with 11 minutes remaining.

As Casarap showed signs of fatigue, the Warriors stepped up its attack with a 21-9 blast, with lay ups and jump shots by Veranga and De Gracia. They padded the Warrior’s lead to 66-46 with only 1 minute and 58 seconds remaining.

With the score at 70-50 for the Warriors and the outcome beyond doubt in the dying seconds, Dads Cardenio hit a triple to make the final score 73-50 for the Warriors.

Ryan De Gracia top scored for the Warriors with 19 points, followed by 16 points by MVP candidate Yogi Veranga.

Dexter Quezon top scored for Casarap with 14 points.

The Warriors will next face WSA in the semifinals.

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Box Scores:

GK Warriors:

De Gracia, Ryan, 19; Veranga, Yogi, 16; Yanogacio, Leo, 10; Clemente, Curtis, 7; Cardenio, Dads, 5; Monsalud, Herb, 4; Clemente, Chris, 4; Clemente, Coco, 4; Llave, Jon, 2; De Guzman, Ryan, 2

Casarap:

Quezon, Dexter, 14; Antonio, Steve, 13; Del Rosario, Jason, 8; Valencia, Paul, 7; Agui, Ramon, 6; Cabalza, Sherwin, 2

G6: Red Bulls raps Casa Rap, 48-44

Report by Jun Rana

In what proved to be thrilling game of the day, Red Bulls edges Casarap 48-44, to avenge their loss in the first round to Casarap and advance to the next round of the playoffs. Jake Cortes proved to be hero in Red Bulls victory by top scoring with 23 points and hitting crucial free throws in the dying minutes of the game.

Casarap however grabbed the last slot in the eight team playoffs with the second best record among the losers.

Cortez waxed hot in the first half with 14 points including 2 three pointers as Red Bulls built a 30-20 lead at the half. Justin Tanjuakio, Karl Malicdem and Jet Deleste provided much needed bench support in that 10-point Bull's run.

Given up for dead, Casarap rallied in the second half behind the heads up play of Jason Del Rosario, Paul Valencia and Dexter Quezon to move to within two, 43-41 with a minute and a half remaining. In the ensuing play however, Del Rosario committed a foul on a driving Cortez. Cortez converted the two free throws to make it 45-41 with a minute remaining.

Another quick basket by Casarap made it 45-43 time down to 45 seconds. Red Bull did not score in the next possession. Dexter Quezon of Casarap then raced to the basket for a layup and was fouled time down to 12 seconds. The foul sent him to the free throw line with a chance to tie and send the game to overtime. Quezon however missed one of the free throws to narrow the gap to 45-44 for Read Bull. In the next possession, Casarap intentionally fouled Cortez of Red Bull and sent him to the free throw line. Cortez converted both free throws to widen the lead to 47-44, 2 seconds remaining.

With no time outs remaining, Casarap team captain Steve Antonio called for a time out and was hit for a technical foul. Jake Cortez converted another free throw to make the final score 48-44.

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Box Scores:

Red Bulls: Cortez, 23; Balan, 4; Deleste, 4; Tanjuakio J, 4; Pangilinan, 4; Malicdem, 4; Tizon, 3; Branzulea, 2

Casa Rap: Del Rosario, 13; Valencia, 10; Quezon, 9; Agui, 6; Antonio, 3; Pangan, 2; Fernandez, 1

G5: Casa Rap defaults crucial game to Exit Realty

It was an easy exit for the Realtors as CASARAP lost by default for not showing up with the required 5 players to compete. Its fifth player, Sherwin Cabalza, was a tad too late to save the team from defaulting the game. The defaulted game rewarded EXIT REALTY with a 20-0 point margin.

In the spirit of sportsmanship, both teams agreed to play an exhibition match for the benefit of the fans. Ironically, the no-bearing game was won by CASA RAP on a squeaker, 74-73.

But the spotlight clearly belonged to Joseph Riel who scored a career high, 43 points and broke the highest 3-point record in a single game by making 7 three-point baskets. He also grabbed 8 rebounds and 2 assists to finish his well-rounded game.

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Box Scores:
Casa Rap: Agui, 24; Antoni, 16; Del Rosario, 16; Valencia, 12; Cabalza., 6;
Exit: Riel, 43; Bondao, 13; Velarde, 11; Pineda, 4; Tan; 2;

G4: WSA stops Casa Rap's momentum in overtime, 71- 65

Former Palaro champions, Wala Sa Ayos, displayed its steel veins under pressure by escaping Casa Rap's pestering rally and winning the game in overtime, 71 - 65. It was indeed a hard-fought encounter even as WSA led througout regulation only to be surprised by a late surging rally.

Casa Rap's ace playmaker and team captain, Steve Antonio, took matters into his own hands in the last 5 minutes of regulation to fashion a game-tying rally at the end of the second half. With WSA brandishing double-digit leads, Antonio was a man with a mission as he sprang a 10-point scoring binge to tie the ball game at 63. Antonio topscored for the Casa Rap Bomb Shells, finishing with a game high, 25 points.

Shaken by Casa Rap's never-say-die rally, WSA banked on steady free-throw shooting in the crucial OT period to claim its second win in 4 games. WSA led a more balanced bench with 9 of its players contributing to the win. Marlon Oniate led WSA with 18 points, followed by Lester Dabu and Felix Vergara with 12 and 10 points respectively.

WSA's win ties them with Casa Rap and 2 other teams with a 2-2 win-loss card, improving their chances for a playoff berth.


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Box Scores:
Wala Sa Ayos: Oniate, 18; Dabu, 12; Fernandez, 9; Alegarbes, 8; Concepcion, 6; Raymundo, 4; Andre, 2; Fernandez, 2.
Casa Rap: Antonio, 25; Del Rosario, 16; Quezon, 13; Agui, 4; Mallari, 2; Mallari, 2; Pangan, 2; Cabalza, 2.