Elite Six remain in hunt for govt title

And then there were six.

The field of 13 has been trimmed down to just six teams as the playoffs of the 2006 Inter-Government Basketball League kicks off this Monday, April 17, at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Having the honors of opening the post season is former champion and third seed Department of Public Safety Enforcers and last year’s pennant champion and sixth seed Public School System. The two teams will clash at 6:30pm in a rematch of their regular season bout last April 7, which saw DPS fight back from a first quarter deficit to win the game.

In the bout, DPS was down 13-19 after the first 10 minutes before storming back and taking the lead in the second quarter. The two-point advantage was stretched to 10 after three periods, and DPS went on to win by 15 points, 95-80.

Serving as DPS’ top gunner was Peter Camacho, who burned the nets for 31 points. PSS, meanwhile, was led by Taj Van Buren, who pumped in 27 points.

The win enabled DPS to finish with a 10-3 record, while PSS recorded a record of 8-5.

Whoever wins will face second-seed Department of Labor in the semifinals on April 19 at 6:30pm. Labor finished the season tied with the best record, 11-2, but lost to Tinian in the regular season resulting in the latter taking the pennant.

The second game will feature defending champion No Zone taking on No. 5 Department of Community and Cultural Affairs.

In their regular season meeting last Wednesday, No Zone leaned on the hot shooting of John Sablan and the all-around play of Ed Diaz to cruise to a 102-72 victory.

The win didn’t come easy, though, as DCCA remained within striking distance until the fourth quarter.

No Zone posted just a three-point edge after the first, 18-5, and increased the lead to 12 points, 52-40, at the break, only to see DCCA climb back and pull to within nine points, 63-74, with the fourth remaining to be played.

No Zone then lit up the scoreboard for 28 points and played tough defense to limit DCCA to just nine points to secure the win.

The winner of the bout will face pennant champion Tinian in the other half of the semifinals at 8pm on April 19.

The two teams that survive the semifinals will then battle in a best-of-three finals beginning on April 21 at 8pm. Game 2 will be played on April 24 at 6:30pm, and if necessary, Game 3 will be played on April 26.

The two that falter in the semis will then battle for third place on April 21 at 6:30pm.