F4: GK Warriors pounds on Wala Sa Ayos, 71 - 39, enters finals

Report by June Rana

With an awesome display of offensive firepower, superb rebounding and stifling defense, the Gawad Kalinga (GK) Warriors dismantled Wala Sa Ayos (WSA), 71-39 to enter the finals of the 2009 PAAD Palaro Basketball Championship. The win also preserved the Warriors unbeaten record. The Warriors, gunning for the championship with a perfect season, will now face the Baltimore Dragons in the finals on Saturday, August 15.

It was an intense game throughout and it was WSA who cracked in the early going. With the pressure of a tournament favorite, and amidst the brouhaha of the light transparent gold shirts which they used atop their normal uniforms, the Warriors showed character and poise in winning over WSA. The PSC allowed the use of the gold shirt which is a symbol of the team with the best record in the semifinals.

Earlier, WSA hang tough with the Warriors, down by only four at 11-7, with 17 minutes remaining in the first half. However, MVP candidate Yogi Veranga with the supporting cast of Leo Yanogacio, Ryan De Gracia and Ryan De Guzman engineered a 15 -5 lightning attack to pad the lead to 26-12, time down to 6 minutes in the first half.

WSA tried in vain to get back to the game with the efforts of Michael Alegarbes, but time in time again they were frustrated by the tight defense of the Warriors who clogged the lanes to prevent easy shots at the basket. A rebound and a follow up shot by Veranga with a minute remaining put the dagger in the heart of WSA, as the Warriors built a commanding 33-17 lead and enroute to a 35-17 halftime lead. It was clear that captain Herb Monsalud and the Warriors were all up to business to put the game away early on.

Earlier in the first half, WSA protested that the Warriors should be penalized as one of its players does not have his usual regular uniform. The head referee ruled that this is not a problem because the transparent gold shirts of the Warriors atop their normal uniforms were the uniforms themselves. WSA protested this ruling but cooler heads prevailed and WSA finally decided to play on.

The Warriors continued their domination in the second half. A layup by Warrior veteran Yanogacio pushed the lead to 43-23 with 18 minutes remaining. Sensing for the Pacquiao knockout blow, Veranga and De Gracia dropped a 9-1 bomb as the Warriors extended the lead to 52-24 time down to 14 minutes.

Unlike in their previous games, there were no scoring runs in the second half this time for WSA to the dismay of its cheering fans. WSA’s top scorers Lester Dabu and JP Raymundo were held to only 6 points and 5 points, respectively. The Warriors were also dominant in the boards, outrebounding WSA, 15-5.

Veranga had a game high 21 points and 5 rebounds for the Warriors, followed by De Gracia and De Guzman with 13 and 12 points respectively. For WSA, Alegarbes and Armando Concepcion top scored with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Game 8: The Final Four

From the Magic 8, we're now down to the Final Four. While many observers have cast their predictions over their favorites, there is still a lingering thought that maybe a dark horse will emerge in the finals.

Here are the highlights of the Final-Four games:

GK vs. WSA

Wala Sa Ayos has been playing the role of "David" in the last 4 rounds of their pairings. Game after game, WSA was always voted to be booted out by our blog-surveys. Amazingly, they have stood tall after each crucial game beaming with victory smiles. Their last loss was in Game 3 against MARICAS Oriental Store, since then the breaks have been with WSA.

But their next hurdle will be the most daunting of all, against crowd-favorite, GK Warriors. Man-for-man, GK Warriors appear to be superior in every match-up, but in the area of "Spirited Hearts", Wala Sa Ayos has the edge. WSA has proven that whatever lack in manpower, they filled it in with a lot of heart.

Will the WSA team sling the biggest "GOLIATH" of all?

Dynamic Excel vs. Baltimore Dragons

After dropping their first 2 games, the Baltimore Dragons cleaned their acts together and won the next 6 rounds. In those 2 lost games, one of them came from the Dynamic Excel team, who won by a squeaker point in the dying minutes, 63 -62. Tounges kept wagging after that game as observers noted how the Dragons could have won it with a complete line-up.


On the other hand, Dynamic Excel is rarin' to go and hungry to face the GK Warriors in the finals. They won't give the Dragons an easy time, that's for sure. They know they're facing an explosive Dragons squad who can shoot it from the rainbow stripe as well as penetrate Dynamic's stonewall defense. If the first meeting between the Dragons and Dynamic Excel is a good indication of what to expect, then this game will be decided down to the dying seconds.


Will the Dynamic Excel team make it to Finals enroute to a possible 2-peat year (FACAA & Paad Palaro champions)?


Or, will the Dragons push to Excel team aside and say, "try again next year boys!!"?


Be there when it happens!!!

G7: Wala Sa Ayos nips Red Bulls in overtime, 41 - 39

Report by Jun Rana

Lester Dabu played the game of his life punctuated by a buzzer beating jumper as time expired to lift Wala Sa Ayos (WSA) to a thrilling overtime victory over Red Bulls, 41-39. It was a heart breaking loss for Red Bulls who had several chances to win the game. WSA nailed the last spot in the semifinal playoffs and eliminated Red Bulls. Dabu top-scored for WSA with 15 points and has 4 rebounds for the game. The game ended at 36-all in regulation.

The game has been low scoring and a nip and tuck affair with no teams leading by more than 5 points. With the score tied at 8-all, Jun Lelina scored on a lay up to put WSA on the lead for the first time at 10-8, with 8 minutes remaining in the game. Both teams then traded baskets, with WSA maintaining a one point lead at halftime 17-16. Chris Balan had 6 points for Red Bulls in the first half.

In the second half, WSA maintained the lead until 21-20, with 18 minutes remaining in the game. At this juncture, Jake Cortez of Red Bulls converted back to back triples to put Red Bulls on top 26-21, with 15 minutes to go. However, Red Bulls was not able to pull away from WSA. In the following crucial 12 minute stretch, Dabu, Marlon Oniate, and Zorab Fernandez ignited a 15-10 bomb to tie the score at 36 all, 1 minute and 21 seconds remaining. Both teams muffed shots in the ensuing possessions. With 4 seconds remaining, Red Bulls had ball possession after a miss by JP Raymundo of WSA. A desperation mid court shot by Chris Balan did not hit the rim as the two teams went into overtime.

In overtime, WSA grabbed the lead on two free throws by Michael Alegarbes and one free throw by Raymundo, with 4 minutes remaining 39-36. The two teams went on a scoreless spell until Jake Cortez hit another three point shot to tie the score at 39-all. With 23 seconds remaining Red Bulls yet again had a chance to win the game with the ball possession. However, Jake Cortez missed a jumper with 3 seconds remaining. A time out was called by WSA. In the ensuing possession, Dabu eluded his guard and made the game winning 9 foot jump shot as time expired.

WSA will face powerhouse GK warriors in the seminal round.

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Box Scores:

Wala Sa Ayos:

Dabu, Lester, 15; Lelina, Jun, 6; Oniate, Marlon, 6; Raymundo, JP, 4; Fernandez, Zorab, 4; Alegarbes, Michael, 4; Vergara, Felix, 2

Red Bulls:

Cortes, Jake, 15; Balan, Chris, 10; Pangilinan, Joseph, 8; Brunzuela, Adrian, 2; Tizon, Richie, 2; Deleste, Jet, 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: WSA rallies, eliminates TFC, 61 - 57

Report by Jun Rana

Wala Sa Ayos (WSA) put their act together in the second half of the game to score a come from behind 61-57 victory that sent them to the second round of the playoffs and eliminated archrival TFC.

TFC, behind balanced scoring from its players, took advantage of the cold shooting of WSA in the first half to post a 12 point halftime lead 33-21. Paul Nicdao led the TFC attack during the first half with 7 points as TFC displayed its impressive running game. TFC had its biggest lead at 24-11 in the first half.

In the second half however, WSA slowly chipped on the lead of TFC as Lester Dabu discovered his shooting touch and TFC started missing attempts. Dabu scored 14 of his game high 16 points in the second half.

WSA finally caught up with WSA in the last two minutes at 54 all. With time down to 16 seconds, WSA had built a 59- 55 lead behind the heads play of Dabu and Michael Alegarbes, and had ball possession. At this stanza, TFC quickly fouled Alegarbes and sent him to the free throw line. Alegarbes calmly sank the two free throws that gave WSA a 61-55 cushion. In the ensuing play, TFC’s Arvie Dazon scored on a lay up as time expired to make the final score 61-57.

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Box Scores:

WSA: Dabu, 16; Alegarbes, 14; Raymundo, 13; Fernandez, 10; Vergaa, 6; Oniate, 2

TFC: Dazon, 14; Nicdao P., 12; David, 8; Sanchez, 7; Santos A, 6, Vierneza, 5; mendoza, 2; esguerra, 2; Fogata, 1

G5: WSA puts a clamp on Titans offense to eke out a low-scoring win, 36 - 32.

In one of the lowest scoring game this season, WSA manages to eke out a win off the sputtering Titans, 36-32. The low-scoring ballgame was a result of WSA's tight defense on Titans prolific forward, Jesse Fabian. Who, on a normal game day, averages in double digit outputs, but was limited to a mere 6 points.

The game was close throughout, with WSA clinging only to 29-27 lead with 3 minutes left in the ballgame. However, WSA outscored the Titans 7- 5 in the last 3 minutes behind the attacking game of Zorab Fernandez.

- reported by Jun Rana

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Box Scores:
WSA: Fernandez, 9; Oniate, 7; Dabu, 6; Concepcion, 4; Lelina, 4, De Lara, 3; Raymundo, 3.
Titans: Ortega, 7; Fabian, 6; Fontano, 6; Alafriz, 4; Corotan, 4; Fermin, 3; Alvarez, 1; Garcia, 1.

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.