Ol’Aces, Golden Oldies pull off upsets

O’Duols-Ol’Aces took out another league leader, while Bacardi-Golden Oldies scored its own upset when the 2005 Budweiser Cup BANMI Men’s Island-wide Basketball League continued Wednesday night at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Seeing action in the first game, Ol’Aces (5-7) reprised its role as giant-killer with a hard-earned 83-81 victory against MARPAC-Titans (8-2).

Last week, the Oleai-based team shocked Bud Light-Toyota, which at that time was also pacing the tournament.

It was not an easy win though, especially come the third and fourth quarters. After dominating the first 20 minutes of action—which saw them take a 26-11 spread after the opening period and a whopping 20-point lead, 46-26, at the half—Ol’Aces had to scramble when Titans finally awoke from their deep slumber to make a game of it.

With fatigue finally getting the better of the team’s Sensational Six, Titan crept back into game with quick outlet passes from big men Steve Rasa and Kelvin Fitial fueling the team’s all-of-a-sudden lightning-quick fastbreak attack anchored by speedsters Aleric Aguon and Andres “Jhun” Estolas Jr.

It also helped that Ol’Aces players were slow at getting back on defense and their offensive efficiency started to conk out. In fact, hotshot Dan Barcinas had to sit the first six minutes of the third quarter because of exhaustion and only returned to the game when Luis Iguel suffered cramps.

At the end of three quarters of play, Titans had overhauled in one quarter what Ol’Aces worked hard to erect in two, as only two points separated both teams, 59-57, still in favor of the team from Oleai.

It was touch and go in the fourth, with Titans flirting to take the driver’s seat only for Ol’Aces to execute key plays that allowed them to keep the upperhand. A barrage of points finally put Titans ahead as much as six points with half quarter to go in the ballgame.

The MARPAC-backed team still enjoyed an 81-79 with less than minute to go before Ol’Aces forward Mel Tagabuel hit from downtown to give his team an 82-81 spread, one that they would not relinquish.

What made Tagabuel’s 3-pointer more dramatic was he missed two free throws before that play. Shan Seman made one of two charities to conclude the scoring.

Barcinas led a balanced attack for Ol’Aces with 17 points, while Jack Lizama and Ambrose Ogumoro backed him up with 16 points apiece. Tagabuel came away with 12 and Seman and Iguel pumped in 11 markers for good measure.

Aguon paced Titans in the loss with 22 points, while Estolas and Rasa chipped in 15 and 12.

In the second game, Golden Oldies hit a crucial triple with a little over a minute left in the game that broke the momentum of Anheuser-8 3’s Const.’s last-ditch rally and escaped with an 83-77 win.

The game was as close as it can be with both teams exchanging leads of no more than six or five points.

Golden Oldies (4-7) was spearheaded by the 24 and 20 points of Richard “Doc” Brostrom and Joe Punzalan, respectively, while Chris Domingo’s 23 and John Artates’ 14 markers topped Anheuser (4-6).

First Game
O’Duols-Ol’Aces 83 – Barcinas 17, Lizama 16, Ogumoro 16, Tagabuel 12, Seman 11, Iguel 11.
MARPAC-Titans 81 – Aguon 22, Estolas 15, Rasa 12, Fitial 8, Palacios 8, Lashley 6, Peters 6, Quitugua 4.
Scoring by quarters: 26-11, 46-26, 59-57, 83-81.
Referees: Dado Vistal and Noel Delos Santos.

Second Game
Bacardi-Golden Oldies 83 – Brostrom 24, Punzalan 20, Berline 13, Espinosa 13, Muna 5, MacDuff 3, Aguon 3, Warfield 2.
Anheuser-8 3’s Const. 77 – Domingo 23, Artates 14, Mendoza 13, Arnedo 8, Factor 7, De Guzman 7, De Dios 5.
Scoring by quarters: 19-24, 44-43, 59-60, 83-77.
Referees: Arnold Mesa and Jess Pacheco.