G8: Force powers past Red Bulls in exhibition, 89-65

Report by Jun Rana

Simon Wong and Ferdinand Mendoza combined for 22 points in the second half to lift Team Force to an 89-65 victory over Red Bulls in an exhibition game. Wong, not exactly known as a three point shooting artist, had 12 points all coming from 4 triples, in the second half. Team Force also held Red Bulls top scorer Jake Cortez scoreless in the second half after a tight first half.

Early in the first half, Red Bulls took the lead 9-6 on tree point shot by Cortez. However, Red Bulls was not able to pull away in the first half even with the torrid shooting of Cortez and able support from Joseph Pangilinan and Karl Malicdem. Force players Ferdinand Mendoza and Marcus Chiu combined for 29 points, including 5 triples to grab the lead at halftime, 45-42.

In the second half, Force behind Wong and Mendoza, slowly pulled away and Red Bulls started missing its shot attempts. Force took advantage of Red Bulls cold shooting spell and went on a shooting spree of their own, hitting eight triples, jump shots and lay ups in succession. Team Force also received help from Joe Nicdao, its guest player from TFC who contributed 10 points in the game.

In the second half Red Bulls’ Jet Deleste, Paulo Tanjuakio and Pangilinan tried to make a game of it but without much success. With 39 seconds remaining and with the smoke of the battle clear in the air, Team Force had built an insurmountable 87-65 lead.

Mendoza top scored for Force with 27 points, followed by Wong and Chiu with 19 and 15 points, respectively. For Red Bulls, Cortez, Pangilinan, and Paulo Tanjuakio were the high scorers with 18, 13 and 10 points, respectively.

G7: Baltimore Dragons stops Team Force, 79 - 57

Report by Jun Rana

Isaac Brooks proved to be a one man wrecking crew, delivering 32 points including 6 triples that powered Baltimore Dragons past Team Force 79-57 and a berth in the semifinal round of the playoffs. Dragons Coach Padilla’s charges also took advantage of the absence of Force top scorer Marcus Chiu in securing the win. The loss eliminated Team Force in the playoffs.

It was a tight game until the last five minutes of the first half. With Brooks leading the attack and with able support from Frank Concepcion, the Dragons had a 26-25 lead with 8 minutes remaining in the first half. Team Force managed to stay close to the Dragons behind the heads up plays of Michael Talag and Ferdinand Mendoza. However, Brooks and Concepcion initiated a 10-2 run that gave the Dragons some breathing room, and a 36-27 halftime lead. At halftime, Brooks had already 18 points or half of the Dragons output.

In the second half, Brooks and Samuel Borromeo triggered a 17-12 attack that padded the lead to 53-39, with 11 minutes remaining in the game. Team Force behind, Anthony Alvarez, Talag, and Ferdinand Mendoza tried to stay in the game but could not get enough offense going and was clearly missing its top scorer Chiu. With Brooks on the attack and having 4 triples in the second half, the Dragons further increased the lead to 70-51 with 5 minutes remaining. From this stanza, both teams traded baskets until the final score of 79-57.

Samuel Borromeo and Frank Concepcion contributed 12 points each for the Dragons. Alvarez top scored for Force with 16 points and Talag added 15.

The Dragons battles Dynamic Excel in the semifinals. It could proved to be an intriguing match-up as Excel defeated the Dragons earlier in the elimination round encounter.

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Box Scores

Baltimore Dragons:
Brooks, Isaac,32; Borromeo, Samuel, 12; Conception, Frank, 12; Borsotos, Jackie, 8; Edades, Edgar, 6; Conception, Julio, 5; Rosario, Alvin, 2; Goasta, Mitek, 2

Team Force:

Alvarez, Anthony, 16; Talag, Michael, 15; Mendoza, Ferdinand, 10; Bune, Jason, 7; Bacal, Djern, 5; Bacal, Devin, 2; Dela Cruz, Jonathan, 2

Game 7: Road to the Finals

View the Video Highlights of Games 5 & 6. Click here.
View updated Photos for Game 6. Click here.

As the games wind down to the Magic 8 enroute to the Final Four, intensity has pervaded the matches. The biggest twist coming to the second round of the play-offs is the elimination of last year's runner-up, TFC Mainline and the surprising entry of Team Force to the Magic 8. Will there be new twists and turns in Game Seven that will surprise us?

Here are the highlights for Game Seven:

• Despite their loss to Red Bulls in the last game, Casa Rap gets a new lease on life on their hopes of a first finals appearance as they face the mighty GK Warriors, who have yet to lose a game since 2008. Will the Antonio-led Bomb Shells ignite the league with a monumental upset?
  
• Maricas, who suffered its first loss to Team Force, gets a second chance at their hopes to enter the Final Four by facing powerhouse Dynamic Excel-Phi. While the odds may be against Maricas, a win will solidify their claim as the Pilipino-division leaders.


• Former Palaro champions, Red Bulls (2007) and WSA (2006) square it off in the "Battle of Champions". Both teams have lingered in the middle ranks this season and their steady plays have brought them at the brink of a Finals showdown. When the smoke clears, who will be in the Final Four?


• Team Force, who was left for dead by the blog voters, springs to life as they face rainbow artists, Baltimore Dragons. The Dragons who lost its first two games got their bearings going by winning 4-straight. Will Team Force douse the Dragons' fire and enter the Final Four?
  

Who will be in the Final Four? Vote now on our blog surveys!

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

PAAD PALARO YOUTH BASKETBALL

PAAD Palaro 2009 is proud to launch its first PALARO Youth Basketball this coming Saturday, August 1, 2009. Youth games start at 11:30 AM alongside some festivities to warm-up the playoff games. Please join us in the fun as we support our Fil-American youth!!

G6: Team Force upsets Maricas, 48 - 33

Report by Jun Rana

Marcus Chiu and Team Force reserved its best game in the first round of the playoffs and Maricas had one of its off day as Force pulled a 48-33 stunner over Maricas. The win put Team Force in the second round of the playoffs. Maricas suffered its first loss in the tournament which relegated them to the losers bracket in the next round of the playoffs Maricas having the second best record in the elimination round qualified as the top loser in the next round of the 8 team playoff.

Both teams combined for one of the lowest scoring first half In Palaro history, with Force leading Maricas 14-11 at halftime. However, Marcus Chiu cut loose in the second half scoring 24 of his 28 game high point to secure the win for Force. Chiu did it with a combination of penetrating lay ups and jump shots. With 11 minutes remaining, Chiu put the dagger in the heart of Maricas with a triple to lead an 18-8 salvo to put Force ahead 32-19.

BJ Advento leads Maricas with 15 points but clearly missed the scoring supports of reliable Kenneth Savella and El Persons, who scored only 2 points each.

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Box Scores:

Force: Chui, 28; Wong, 7; Talag, 4; Bacal, 3; Maltman, 3; Bacal Djern, 2; Alvarez, 1

Maricas: Advento, 15; Setters. 8; Alday, 4; Savella, 2; Persons, 2; Vergara, 2

G5: GK Warriors makes mince meat out of Team Force, 110 - 60

GK proved once again that it has the deepest bench this season, as it virtually made mince meat of Team Force on a 50-point route, 110 - 60. Despite the heroics of Marcus Chiu, who scored a game-high of 24 points, it was evident that Team Force could not sustain the offensive power of the Warriors.

In the opening minutes of the game, GK sprinted to a 10-0 bomb to rattle Force. And at the end of halftime, GK padded the lead further to 48-24 and 67-34 and put the game beyond recall.

Five GK players dotted the box scores with double-digit stats to lead a 10-man offense. Ryan de Gracia topscored the Warrior's offense with 24 points, 18 of which, came from three-point country. He was followed by Ryan de Guzman, with 12, Coco Clemente and Yogi "The Stallion" Veranga, with 11 apiece. GK's win over Team Force solidifies their first place position in the over-all rankings, making them a mathematical shoe-in for the playoffs. On the other hand, the loss by Team Force slides them to 10'th place overall.

**With reports from Jun Rana and Scribbs

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Box Scores:
GKW: De Gracia, 24; De Guzman R., 12; Clemente, Coco, 11; Veranga, 11; Yanogacio, 10; Clemente, C, 9; Clemente, I, 9; Llave, 9; Clemente, C, 8; Monsalud, 7;
FORCE: Chui, 24; Alvarez, 15; Talag, 13; Dela Cruz, 3; Bacal, 3; Maltman, 2

G4: Baltimore Dragons spews fire to melt Force, 60 - 55

With the Dragons struggling to keep a complete roster, Coach Ed Padilla pulls another ace up his sleeve by fielding in jersey no. 5, Julio Concepcion, to keep the Dragons within striking distance of Team Force. Concepcion readily took the cudgels for the Dragons by dishing in 18 points, 12 of which, coming from the three-point area, all in the first half of play.

Team Force, on the other hand, anchored its offense on Simon Wong's double-double performance as he pumped in 16 points, 12 rebs., 2 blocked shots and a single assist that almost eclipsed the Dragons' fire. The first half of play was so close that Team Force ended it with a 2-point lead. Realizing that Concepcion was spewing fire, Team Force adjusted their defense to silence Concepcion in the second half. And they did just that, as Concepcion struggled to get his bearings together with only 1 rebound to contribute in the final half.

But another Dragon was let loose by Coach Ed in the 2nd half to lift the Baltimore squad to its second win. Isaac Brooks (12), who coasted through the first half with 7 points, exploded with another 11 points to break Team Force's defense. While Brooks led scoring in the second half, it was really the bench scoring of 4 other Dragons that kept them in the game. The Dragons top-rebounder, Souk Gumatay (4) drilled in 9 points; Frank Concepcion (22), who was scoreless in the first half, waxed hot with another 8 points in the second half; and clutch shooters, Jackie Barsotos (23) and Paco Estrada (24), contributed 4 and 3 points respectively.

All told, the Baltimore Dragons spewed fire that melted team Force to its 3rd loss in 4 outings. The Dragons improve their standing to 2-2 win-loss card, tying them with 3 other teams in the 4th spot over-all and 3rd ranked in division standings.


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Box Scores:
Dragons: Concepcion, J., 18; Brooks, 18; Gumatay, 9; Concepcion, F., 8; Barsotos, 4; Estrada, 3.
Force: Wong, 16; Talag, 13; Chiu, 9; Dela Cruz, 5; Acuna, 4; Bacal, 3; Bune, 3; Maltman, 2.