G8: TFC subdues Maricas in exhibition, 56 - 54

Report by Jun Rana

In a game reminiscent of a championship match, TFC Mainline edged Maricas Oriental Store, 56-54 in a down to the wire finish of the exhibition game. Thus TFC Mainline, one of the most exciting games in the league with their running game and Maricas, the Pilipino Division champion bowed out in style in the ongoing Palaro 2009 basketball tournament.

With only 30 seconds remaining, TFC trailed by one, 54-53 but had ball possession. Alex Santos then hit a jumper to giveTFC the lead 55-54, with 8 seconds remaining. In the next possession, Marlowe Ulit immediately drove to the basket faced by a TFC defender and missed the basket, time down to 3 seconds. Maricas then immediately fouled Santos and sent him to the free throw line. Santos connected on one of the free throws to seal the win for TFC.

In the early going, the inside and speedy plays of Kenny Santos, Paul Nicdao and Jeff Vierneza gave TFC an early 30-15 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. However, Maricas without its key players, Alex Alday, Kenneth Savella and El Persons battled back behind its spirited plays and team defense. A 16-2 barrage by BJ Advento, Ulit, Ignacio Carreon and Dave Setters narrowed the gap at halftime to 32-31.

The teams then traded baskets until the final minutes with neither teams giving up any inches. Then came the heroics of Alex Santos which clinch the win for TFC. Kenny Santos top scored for TFC with 14 points, followed by Paul Nicdao with 9 and Alex Santos with 8. Advento topped the scoring honors for Maricas with 17 points, followed by Carreon and Setters with 10 and 9 points, respectively.

G7: Dynamic Excel thwarts Maricas surge, 66 - 40

Report by Jun Rana

Dynamic Excel pulled away from a tight first half behind the juggernaut quartet of Rich Bandoy, Joe Miranda, Will imperial and Mark Pr’Out to beat Maricas 66-40 and earned a seminal spot in the playoffs. The loss eliminated the Cinderella team of the tournament Maricas Oriental Store which was unbeaten at the elimination rounds.

Early in the first half Excel built a 20-9 lead with 11 minutes remaining behind the lay ups and jumpers of Will Imperial, Will Barnes and Mark Pr’Out. However, Maricas egged on by its loyal fans and led by El Persons, Dave Setters, Joseph Tanseco and Alex Alday, showed its fighting heart and answered back with an 11-2 run to cut the lead to 22-20 at halftime.

In the second half however, a 21-6 scoring blitz led by Bandoy, Miranda and Imperial gave Excel a commanding 43-26 lead, time down to 8 minutes. At this point, it was clear that Excel’s running game and good defense had taken its toll on Maricas who could not muster enough offense to threaten Excel. Maricas tried all the tricks in its arsenal including lay ups, jump shots and three points shots, but it was not clearly their day. BJ Advento, its top scorer averaging 14 points a game was held to only 5 points in the entire game. The reliable Marlowe Ulit did not score in the entire game after several attempts in the basket most of them lay ups.

And for Excel’s coach Mike Sanchez who rotated his players well specially down the stretch, it’s all smiles for him and his players who now play the Baltimore Dragons in the semifinals.

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Box Scores:

Dynamic Excel-Phi:

Imperial, Will, 13; Miranda, Joe, 11; Pr'Out, Mark, 10; Bandoy, Rich, 10; Balagtas, Dennis, 7; Barnes, Will, 5; Valera, R.J, 4; Holcomb, Jeff, 3; Sanchez, Mike, 3

Maricas Oriental Store:

Persons, El, 11; Setters, Dave, 10; Alday, Alex, 6; Advento, BJ, 5; Tanseco, Joseph, 4; Lizardo, Jay, 2; Aquino, Norman, 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: Maricas defies the odds, tramples Red Bulls, 53 - 39

Maricas will surely be this season's Cinderella team as it defies the odds and clinches its 5th win over Red Bulls. In the past 3 seasons, the core of the Maricas team, under the name KOP/Pinoy used to hug the cellar and has never seen a the light to the playoffs. This year, after a complete make-over and a new team sponsor, Maricas remains unbeatable in the regular games, tied only to the mighty GK Warriors.

At gametime, Maricas showed poise in beating Red Bulls 53-39. The team's balanced scoring, combined with their fluid offense and superb defense carried the day for Maricas. BJ Advento who had only 2 points in the first half caught fire in the second half with 12 points, for a game high 14 points. The win puts Maricas in second place in the over-all rankings and top spot in the Pilipino division. Red Bulls, on the other hand, slides to 7th over-all.

-With reports from Jun Rana and Scribbs.

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Box Scores:
MARICAS: Advento, 14; Savella, 8; Setters, 7; Persons, 7; Jersey 14, 5; Aquino, 4; Carabio, 3; Ramiscal, 2; Alday, 2.
RED BULLS: Pangilinan, 10; Deleste, 9; Borres, 8; Tizon, 6; Balan, 4; Brunzuela, 2.

G4: Maricas continues win streak, beats Titans, 51 - 45

Blog favorite, Delaware Titans wilts under pressure to give way to dark-horse, Maricas, 51 -45. The first half of play was a tightly contested period with numerous lead changes until both teams started dishing out fouls to clamp on defense. Jesse Fabian of the Titans exploded with 5 triples to lead the Titans offense in the first half.

Not to be outdone, Maricas applied smart defense in the second half that silenced Fabian to a mere 2 points. The defense was so stifling, that the Titans, who scored 34 points in the first half, was limited to 6 points in the final half of play.

Dave Setters led Maricas with 16 points to notch its 4th win in 4 games. Maricas, who surprises everyone with their winning streak, leads the Pilipino Division and is tied with GK Warriors with a 4-0 card. The loss of the Titans, slide them further to 1-3 card tied with 4 other teams.


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Box Scores:
Maricas: Setters, 16; Persons, 7; Lizardo, 5; Savella, 5; Advento, 4; Tanseco, 4; Ramiscal, 3; Magpantay, 3; Carreon, 2; Ulit, 2.
Del Titans: Fabian, 20; Corotan, 15; Ortega, 3; Fermin, 3; De Luna, 2; Villamor, 2.