Brothers are BANMI 2000 champs

History repeats itself.

The Brothers captured their second straight BANMI 2000 title by defeating GTE Pacifica 75-66 Friday night at the Ada Gym packed with spectators.

In the final game of the BANMI 2000 Championship, the Brothers opened up the game with a 12-0 run and were determined to avenge their 30-point defeat Wednesday night from the hands of GTE Pacifica.

GTE managed to get on the scoreboard with 17 minutes remaining in the first half on Ed Cosino’s lay-up.

Brothers played hard defense by pressing the ball handler of GTE Pacifica.

Ed “Jordan” Diaz was the highest pointer of the game with 26 points, three assists, seven rebounds, and seven steals while Ponce Rasa playing a good game had 12 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and a steal.

Dennis Camacho played a crucial role as he managed to steal the ball away from GTE Pacifica for three consecutive times in the last minute of the ball game to seal the victory. Camacho contributed eight points, six rebounds, nine steals and one assist. This is the first time that Camacho saw action in the BANMI finals.

Diaz, however, deserves a lot of credit for the team’s back to back title after containing the points production of GTE’s Mark Wallace to 13.

GTE Pacifica, down by as much as 20 points in the second half, managed to cut the deficit to three with five minutes remaining in the ball game but ran out of gas and were not converting on their shots.

With 16 minutes remaining in the ball game, the Brothers were already in foul trouble and in penalty situation, however GTE was not able to capitalize on this situation. GTE also found themselves in foul trouble with 11 minutes remaining.

The game ended with a 75-66 victory for the Brothers over GTE Pacifica. Last year, the Brothers defeated Saipan Stevedore in the finals which consisted mostly of GTE Pacifica players.

BANMI Special Awards

1. MVP Regular Season Ed Diaz Brothers

2. MVP Playoffs Dennis Camacho Brothers

3. Rookie of the Year Mark Wallace GTE Pacifica

4. Scoring Champion Mark Wallace GTE Pacifica

5. Rebound Champion Mark Rozic Len’s Restaurant

6. Assist Champion Ed Diaz Brothers

7. Steals Champions Gus Palacios Sharks

Fernando Muleta Diamond Car Care

8. Shot Block Champion Jawn Joyner Sunrisers

9. Coach of the Year Tony Sablan GTE Pacifica

Regular Season Awards

1. Pennant Champions Brothers APC Co. Ltd.

2. 1st Runner Up GTE Pacifica GTE Pacifica

3. 2nd Runner Up Lite Beer PTC

4. 3rd Runner Up Sharks Marpac/Stevedore

Playoffs Awards

1. Champions Brothers APC Co. Ltd.

2. 1st Runner Up GTE Pacifica GTE Pacifica

3. 2nd Runner Up Lite Beer P.T.C.

4. 3rd Runner Up Get Covered Get Covered

5. Sportsmanship Len’s Len’s Restaurant

Baro Topnotch Player of the Month Awards:

1. Ed Diaz-Brothers November 99 APC Co. Ltd.

2. Jawn Joyner-Sunrisers December 99 Sunrisers

3. John Santos-Sharks January 2000 Marpac/Stevedore

4. Mark Rozic-Len’s February 2000 Len’s Restaurant

BANMI’s next season will start on Sept. 6, 2000. All interested team managers, coaches, representatives, and players are urged to submit their team roster and entrance fee before Aug. 24, 2000. Entrance fee is pegged at $800.00 and payable to BANMI.

For more information, please contact Atty. Mike White at his law offices or BANMI commissioner Ray Lizama. (Commissioner).