Bus Drivers take Hoops for Life

The Bus Drivers took Chamuhit to town upon the sun-scorched court of San Antonio in the finals of the 2nd Annual Hoops for Life 3-on-3 basketball tournament, yesterday afternoon, but they needed to pull out all of the stop s to get the job done.

Tony Diaz, Ed Diaz, Donald Blondin, and Mark Wallace of the Bus Drivers emerged from a pack of 10 men’s teams to win the tournament in a hotly contested final round and walked away happy with $200 in cash and waterpark brunch passes for two at the Pacific Islands Club.

The Bus Drivers managed to make their way to the finals without losing a game in the 3-on-3 double elimination tournament until they met with Chamuhit in a rematch of their game earlier in the day.

After cutting through the competition unscathed, Chamuhit dropped to the loser’s bracket when they fell to the Bus Drivers 12-6. They rebounded with a win to get them into the finals for a rematch with the Drivers, and came within a game of the championship

Chamuhit came back to play Bus Drivers with a little knowledge of their style and took the first game 12-11.

“It was a fantastic game and down to the wire with a lot of contact,” said tournament coordinator Jojo Cramer.

After a brief rest between games, the teams returned to the court where they battled it out until the Bus Drivers avoided their second loss with a hard fought 12-9 victory.

Taj Van Buren, Jawn Joyner, Dave Sablan, Shane Villanueva, and Abong Camacho of Chamuhit walked off the court in second place, but not empty handed, as they took home Magellan Brunches for two, as well as Hyatt regency Club Elan day passes.

Three women’s teams showed up for the competition, and after Saturday’s round of pool play, the Ol’ Aces and the Track Stars faced off in the championship game. Connie Camacho, Chariss Ruluked, Chelsea Ruluked, and Vanessa Mobel of the Ol’ Aces edged out the Track Stars in a 12-8 clincher.

On the men’s side, the teams were divided into two pools of five on Saturday for pool play, and all but the Knights of the Round Table and Savarakurhi advanced to yesterday’s playoffs.

Only eight teams earned the right to advance to yesterday’s playoff round of action, and of two of the top eight got an easy by to the next round when their competition failed to field a team.

The Bus Drivers were the first to get the free pass as Just 4 Fun was just not there, while Chamuhit cruised into the next round when the Cleveland Cavite stayed home.

A pair of teams from the Pacific Islands Club went head to head in the playoffs as the Stingrays and the Saipandas squared off, and the Stingrays got the better of the plush toys by edging the Saipandas 12-10.

The other game featured a spirited match in which Capricciosa overpowered the Underdogs, 12-8.

From there, the Saipandas took advantage of their second chance in the double-elimination tournament when they knocked off with Capricciosa 12-7.

The Stingrays had to deal with Underdogs for another chance to play their PIC-mates, and they overwhelmed them, 12-8. In the rematch of the PIC teams, the Stingrays took it to the Saipandas once again to win a close 12-7 game.

The loss eliminated Dexter Palacios, Peter Bocago, Marino Pungilug, Kelvin Fitial, and Carl Christie of the Saipandas from the tournament with a respectable fourth place finish, and put the Stingrays into the semifinals with the Chamuhit.

The Chamuhit was forced to play the Stingrays as a result of losing to the Bus Drivers 12-6 to suffer their first loss of the tournament. The fighting Chamuhit was intent upon earning a rematch against the Bus Drivers in the finals and net the Stingrays 12-7.

Paul Gauci, Rannel Calixterio, Jason Wehmhoefer, James Abuy, and Roger Prince of the Stingrays bowed out gracefully with a third place finish, and PIC Waterpark passes for two, as well as Hard Rock lunches.

Cramer said that she was pleased with the way that the event turned out, and appreciated the way that all of the fans and participants supported each other.

“It was a great tournament with great sportsmanship and a lot of amazing basketball,” said Cramer.