Rollers 1 bounces back, gets first win

Rollers 1 made it to the win column of the 2013 Sun Palace Christmas Basketball Tournament after dominating Rollers 5, 65-50, in the curtain-raiser last Friday night at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

Rollers 1 was in control of the match from start to finish to recover from a sorry 62-63 loss to another sister team Rollers 2 during the league’s opening day last Dec. 21.

Three players scored double figures in Rollers 1’s 15-point win. Joseph Yan and Mike Arciaga had 13 points each, while Jaron Ano chipped in 11. Ano dropped 9 of his total markers in the opening half to lift Rollers 1 to a 32-19 halftime advantage.

The margin never went down to single digits in the second half, even though the much experienced and taller Rollers 1 crew gave up easy baskets to Rollers 5 in the closing minutes of the game.

Ylac Caracut led Rollers 5’s losing cause with his 12 markers, while Aaron Ogumoro contributed 10, but the team is still winless after two matches in the round-robin elimination.

Rollers 3 55,
Rollers 4 44
In another sister teams duel, Rollers 3 also cruised past Rollers 4 to improve to a 2-0 record and join Rollers 2 on top of the boys division standings (pending last Saturday’s games results).

Rollers 3 turned a 6-point halftime lead to the 11-point win after Christian Morales caught fire in the homestretch. The lefty guard scored only one field goal in the first half, which ended with Rollers 3 ahead by single digit, 24-18. He then nailed back-to-back baskets to kick off the second half and finished what he started, drilling 8 of Rollers 3’s last 11 points.

Wilfredo Francisco canned the last 3 points of the Rollers 3 with a basket from beyond the arc to hit the double figure mark with his 12 points. Morales top-scored for Rollers 3 with 14, while Ethan Kwon added 10. Rollers 4’s Melvin Deocares had a game-high 17 points, scoring 12 straight early in the second half off three consecutive triples and an and-1 play.

GIRLS DIVISION
Wrecking Balls 58,
Tappers 44
Also scoring in streak in the second half was Kyla Ito and she powered Wrecking Balls (2-0) to a 14-point victory against the winless Tappers (0-2).

Ito hit four baskets in a row midway in the final half to finish with a game-high 17 points. She also made the first and last field goal for Wrecking Balls in the first half to give her team a comfortable 32-15 lead at the break. Wrecking Balls built an early double-digit advantage to set up the easy victory after drawing at least three field goals apiece from five players.

While Wrecking Balls’ points were evenly distributed, Tappers struggled to get contributions from multiple players in the first half with only Janelle Francisco, Vanessa Bartolo, and Serafina Rogoyawa lighting up the scoreboard.

BOYS DIVISION
First Game
Rollers 1 65 – Yang 13, Arciaga 13, Ano 11, Iglecias 9, Malonzo 5, Pangelinan 4, Yu 2.
Rollers 5 50 – Caracut 12, Ogumoro 10, Alonzo 9, Cobacha 8, Tengco 5, Mamaril 2, Yu 2, Pangelinan 2.
Scoring by halves: 32-19, 65-50.

Second Game
Rollers 3 55 – Morales 14, Francisco 12, Kwon 10, Rios 8, Cruz 7, Factor 2, De Luna 2.
Rollers 4 44 – Deocares 17, Iba 9, Sagun 7, Toves 6, Wei 3, Ellama 2.
Scoring by halves: 24-18, 55-44.

GIRLS DIVISION
Wrecking Balls 58 – Ito 17, Reyes 12, Abrams 7, Lebria 6, Alegre 6, Williams 6.
Tappers 44 – Francisco 12, Garon 11, Rogoyawa 8, Bartolo 5, Alipio 4, Mafnas 2.
Scoring by halves: 32-15, 58-44.