Poohdeni sweeps elims, JCN wins

Star-studded Poohdeni completed a sweep of the elimination round, while JCN Enterprises kept its Final Four hopes alive in the resumption of the 2005 MDX Amateur Radio Club Inter-Color Basketball League Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Poohdeni stamped its name all over the No. 1 spot in the semifinals following a 110-102 victory over SMF-Shell-Seabridge in the second game.

The final score actually was not indicative of the utter dominance—at least in the game’s first three quarters— Poohdeni players displayed against their counterparts from SMF.

Led by 2003 MVP Fernando “Pando” Muleta, Poohdeni raced to a 21-13 led after the first quarter, as Muleta heated the net with nine points.

Poohdeni continued with its rampage in the second, but unlike Muleta’s one-man show in the opening 10 minutes, eight different players punched in at least two points each to help the team open up a 53-40 spread at halftime.

The 10-minute break did little to help SMF’s cause, as the team, already smarting from the absence of leading scorer and resident aerial acrobat Leo Itaas and 3-point specialist Sonny Lerio, continued to grope for form and went down by more than a bundle and eventually trailed 83-63 going into the fourth and final quarter of the ballgame.

It was, however, a testament to SMF’s never-say-die spirit that the team didn’t give up despite the mammoth lead established by Poohdeni.

With pass-first point guard Jimmy Sison taking the offensive cudgels in the payoff period, SMF rallied and cut down Poohdeni’s once-imposing advantage to manageable proportions.

Sison fired 13 of his team-high 24 points in the final 10 minutes. Too bad for him and the rest of the SMF team though that Muleta once again came to the rescue of Poohdeni.

After erupting for nine points in the third, Muleta took command of the uncharacteristically sputtering squad and banged in another nine points in the fourth, as Poohdeni held on to the eight-point win.

Muleta led all scorers with 31 points, but also managed to contribute in other departments as he also dished off five times and stole the ball in eight occasions. High-flyer Ron Gamboa and former PABL standout Ed Cosino back-stopped Muleta’s sterling performance with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Cosino also hauled down 12 boards and swatted away two shots.

Aside from leading his team in points, Sison also had eight assists and the same number of rebounds. Long-tom artist Gary Cayetano and longhaired Giovanni Pardinan also chipped in 19 and 17 points in a losing effort.

In the first game, JCN Enterprises used a fourth-quarter explosion to leave Micronesian Brokers, Inc. biting their dust in their 106-84 conquest.

Six players broke into double figures for JCN led by youth cager Kevin Cequena’s 22 points and former SMF hitman Melvin Villarin’s 21. Playmaker extraordinaire Andres “Jhun” Estolas also had a good all-around game finishing with 16 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, and two steals.

First-year sensation Elbyn Cecilia paced MBI with 28 points and 13 boards, while swingman Jeff Garcia added 21 markers and center Larry Palero chipped in 14 points and 17 caroms in the loss.

First Game

JCN Enterprises 106 – Cequena 22, Artates 21, Estolas 16, Aranda 13, Artates 12, Palma 10, Canlas 6, Barrios 4, Abuy 2.

MBI 84 – Cecilia 28, Garcia 21, L. Palero 14, Samson 13, R. Palero 4, Garon 2, Cordero 2.

Scoring by quarters: 18-20, 50-44, 79-67, 106-84.

Referees: Dado Vistal and Noel Delos Santos.

Second Game

Poohdeni 110 – Muleta 31, Gamboa 14, Cosino 13, Bicera 12, De Belen 12, Marasigan 11, Umali 8, Babauta 7, Uy 2.

SMF-Shell-Seabridge 102 – Sison 24, Cayetano 19, Pardinan 17, Banatasa 16, Demigillo 13, J. Itaas 5, Moises 5, Elayda 2, Badilles 1.

Scoring by quarters: 21-13, 53-40, 83-63, 110-102.

Referees: Dado Vistal and Jess Pacheco.