Armatech, Cavite boost playoff bids

Armatech/MDX’s Hae Jun Park is surrounded by three PC Bargain/Visminda defenders during the fourth quarter of their game in the UFO caging last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Cavite and Armatech/MDX remained in playoff contention in the 2016 UFO/IT&E Inter-Organizational Basketball League after notching victories last week at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Cavite downed Armatech, 82-67, in last Thursday’s second game, while the latter bounced back quickly with a 106-59 triumph over PC Bargain/Visminda last Saturday, 106-59. Armatech improved its record to 3-4 with one game left in the regular season, while Cavite finished the round-robin contest with a 3-5 mark.

Armatech and Cavite, along with Save More/MIFICPA (3-4) will battle for the two remaining playoff berths. Six of the nine teams in the league will advance to the playoffs with Ali’i Blue Haus/Bayani (8-0) and Best Sunshine International-Blue Eagle (7-1) already securing the two outright semis berths. 8th Division/MAFEA (4-3), Stephen’s Pawnshop/NMBA (4-3) are also assured of spots to the next round, while Maplas/Akap Pinoy (1-7) and PC Bargain (1-7) are already eliminated.

Save More and Armatech will meet in a crucial game on Tuesday at 8pm, while the other match in the last day of the regular season will have 8th Division facing Stephen’s Pawnshop at 6:30pm. The winner of the first match will move into the playoffs, while the loser will tie Cavite for the sixth and last qualifying spot. League organizers have yet to announce the rules on the tiebreaker.

Jun Alipio Jr. towed Armatech to the lopsided win over PC Bargain after scoring 33 points. He sizzled early, knocking in 11 points in the first period to lift Armatech to a double-digit lead, 29-10.

Armatech never looked back as Alipio’s teammates also stepped up in the remaining three quarters, while PC Bargain’s leaned heavily on James Villacrusis after playing in its last match with a depleted crew.

Against Cavite, Armatech led in the first quarter, 19-13, behind the 10 straight points of Alipio. However, Armatech failed to keep its momentum, while Cavite grabbed the lead in the second canto en route to the 15-point winning margin.

Cavite outgunned Armatech in the pivotal second period, 28-12, to establish a double-digit spread at halftime, 41-31. Preston Basa and Dan Barcinas teamed up in Cavite’s attack in the second quarter with the former firing three triples and scoring 11 points and the latter adding 10.

Basa continued to make his shots from downtown to keep Cavite’s safe distance and end the team’s four-game losing skid.

Saturday
Armatech 106 — Alipio 33, Berline 14, J. Malasarte 14, Park 12, Montano 10, Moreno 7, Gabaldon 6, Poquiz 4, Asuhan 4.
PC Bargain 59 — Ja. Villacrusis 26, Legaspi 19, Alegre 10, Munoz 2, Santos 2.
Scoring by quarters: 29-10, 53-27, 66-40, 106-59.

Thursday
Cavite 82 — Basa 28, Barcinas 19, Ocampo 12, Renguul 7, Palacios 6, Laguindam 4, Garcia 4, Quemado 2.
Armatech 67 — Alipio 23, Berline 10, J. Malasarte 9, Tolonsa 6, Gabaldon 5, Moreno 4, Poquiz 4, B. Malasarte 2, Asuhan 2.
Scoring by quarters: 13-19, 41-31, 59-47, 82-67.