SMJ makes way to semis after OT thriller

SMJ Corp. divided Unity Trade, 70-66, after an overtime thriller to make it to the semifinals of the semi open division of the Win Pacific Corp. Invitational Basketball League 2024 at the Gillette Multi-Purpose Gymnasium last Saturday.

The game started with a battle from deep territory as SMJ’s Alex Robles drew first blood, with a quick equalizer by Unity Trade’s Elmer Esdrelon for an early 3-3 game.

Both teams were firing on all cylinders but good defense on both ends dominoed into missed opportunities at the basket. The net was still closed until Esdrelon finally broke the draw with an and-1 at the below 16-minute mark.

They were still evenly matched as they were all knotted up at 8-8 with less than 14 minutes in the first half. However, Robles’ power and accuracy at the basket, along with Jun Estolas and Aiden Suba’s contributions also from downtown helped them dominate the first half with a sizeable lead, 34-24.

Esdrelon tried to keep his team together and pushed his way to the basket every chance he got. He was assisted mostly by Su Diwa and Ivan De Vero, but SMJ’s tight squad made the game an uphill battle that lasted until the very end.

As a result, the team headed into overtime, as Unity Trade’s Christian De Vero tied it up, 62-62, with just mere seconds on the clock.

In overtime, everyone was on the edge of their seats even more as both teams fought until there was nothing left to give. In the end, SMJ managed to put up 8 points, while Unity Trade fell short with just 4 points, and handed the win to SMJ.

Robles led SMJ to victory with 17 markers, while Estolas had 14, and Frank Ferrer contributed 13. Esdrelon had a game-high 23 points to show for his efforts, while Diwa and Ivan De Vero put up 13 each.

In other results that day, Alsa Baso slipped past One Pacific, 81-78, and HBR made losers of El Champions, 66-55.

In last Sunday’s games, 670 Gravity leapt over One n Win, 75-69 in the masters division; Swishas made light work of Umi Shooters, 126-74; and Team Alliana’s discarded Lakay, 101-65.

The finals for the semi open and masters division are set for this Sunday, Nov. 24. The masters finals is first at 6:30pm, while the semi open finals is right after at 7:30pm.

SMJ Corp 70 – Robles 17, Estolas 14, Ferrer 13, Mejarito 10, Licayan 5, Yanto 4, Suba 3, Directo 2, David 2.

Unity Trade 66 – Esdrelon 23, Diwa 13, I. De Vero 13, C. De Vero 8, Mateo 5, Gontar 4.

Scoring by halves: 34-24; 62-62, 70-66.