Clutch plays propel Garapan to victory

Jericho Cruz and Ric Basila came through in the clutch to lead Garapan Rollers to a 41-31 win over Kagman Cougars in the resumption of the Island-wide Village Youth Basketball League playoffs last night at the Garapan Basketball Court.

Cruz and Basila combined for all but two of G-Rollers’ 10 points in the payoff period as the third-seeded team ousted the sixth-seeded homesteaders in the third play date of the of the 14-and-under league playoffs.

On Tuesday night, San Antonio Sixers I got a free ride to the second round after the Hopwood Junior High School team was forced to forfeit their match.

IVYBL coordinator Jonathan Tenorio said Hopwood wasn’t allowed to play at the Koblerville Basketball Court because of the absence of their coach.

Garapan started the game strong, as five different players tallied points to give the Jose Tumaquip and Joe Diaz-coached team an 11-4 advantage after the first eight minutes of play.

Jose Castro then tossed in four points in the second, as G-Rollers extended their lead to 23-12 at the break.

G-Rollers seemed in control of the ballgame with about four minutes into the third period, when a basket by Steve Tellei gave them a 29-14 lead.

But Kagman closed the canto on a 10-2 spurt, highlighted by six straight baskets by forward Manuel Matagolai, to trim their deficit to a manageable seven points, 24-31, going into the fourth and final quarter.

The homesteaders continued to breath down the necks of Garapan and back-to-back baskets by Matagolai and Jericho Santos pulled Kagman to within four points, 29-33, three minutes and change left in the ballgame.

Then came Cruz and Basila to the rescue, as the Dynamic Duo scored the next six points to give Garapan a 39-31 spread less than a minute to go in the contest.

Cruz and center Dior Jones were the leading scorers for Garapan with eight points apiece, while Basila and Nate Mateo added six and five points, respectively. Santos scored 10 markers in the loss, while Matagolai came through with nine.

Garapan Rollers 41 – Cruz 8, Jones 8, Basila 6, Mateo 5, Castro 4, Untalan 4, Tellei 2, Teregeyo 2.

Kagman Cougars 31 – Santos 10, Matagolai 9, Caliwan 4, Camacho 4, Cabrera 2, Ruluked 2.

Scoring by quarters: 11-4, 23-12, 31-24, 41-31.

Referees: Joe Mettao and Jonathan Tenorio.