Zhaila's All Starz zoomed to its second straight victory after dominating Blue Haus, 92-79, in the curtain raiser in the 2012 DLX/Gualo Rai Invitational Basketball League last Saturday at the Gualo Rai Basketball Court.
With the win, Zhaila's is now alone at the top of the team standings in Pool A, one victory ahead of Playboy and Micronesian Brokers, Inc. San Antonio is in fourth place with its 3-1 card, followed by defending champion KFC/Taco Bell (1-1), Wushin Express (1-1), Blue Haus (1-2), Mawati (0-2), and Hip Hop (0-3).
Brian Ajoste and Brian Chan built the early foundation for Zhaila's to force Blue Haus to play catch up the whole night. Ajoste and Chan had 7 points apiece in Zhaila's 27-16 scoring in the first period. Blue Haus was in a deep hole early, as it was held to only four field goals in the opening canto and had limited offensive options after only seven players showed up for the game.
Ajoste picked up where he left off in the second period, sizzling for 11 points before the halftime break to increase Zhaila's lead to 15, 50-35. Chan had a quiet 2 points, but Jeff Bahillo filled the gap, scoring five straight points in the homestretch to up Zhaila's advantage.
Blue Haus improved on offense a bit in the second half with its 19 points, but most of them came from Sam Fernandez, who had 8 in that canto.
Zhaila's lead climbed up to 20-plus points on several occasions in the third quarter with Ajoste and company getting away with easy fastbreak baskets against the depleted and tired Blue Haus crew.
Then in the fourth quarter Blue Haus managed to slice the deficit to as low as 11 points, 80-69, with over four minutes left on the clock. However, Zhaila's hit back-to-back long jumpers in the ensuing plays to prevent Blue Haus from moving closer. Ron Mostales canned a 15-footer from the left baseline, while Jeff Bahillo drained a triple on the opposite side.
With Zhaila's regaining a comfortable lead, the team's second stringers reported in the last two minutes of the game and closed the match with a 13-point winning margin.
Ajoste top-scored for Zhaila's with his 30 big points, while Jeff Bahillo and Brian Chan contributed 16 and 11, respectively. Edwin Camacho led Blue Haus with 22, while Fernandez added 21. Mel Capalad chipped in 14 for Blue Haus, which drew only 13 markers from the rest of its players. Zhaila's played with a full 12-player roster and 11 of them broke into the scoreboard, resulting to a 24-point bench production.
Zhaila's All Starz 92 - Ajoste 30, Jef. Bahillo 16, Chan 11, R. Lansang 8, Hernandez 6, Mostales 5, Sula 4, Aranda 4, Ja. Bahillo 4, E. Lansang 2, Jer. Bahillo 2.
Blue Haus 79 - Camacho 22, Fernandez 21, Capalad 14, Galulu 6, Olivos 4, Siriban 3.
Scoring by quarters: 27-16, 50-35, 78-52, 92-79.
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