Old Aces not so old against Dollar Days

With the starting line-up of the CNMI team in the 1987 South Pacific Games on the floor, Old Aces shut down Arnold Mesa and Dollar Days, 90-67, Tuesday night in the 40-and-over Masters Basketball League.

Center Poland Yamada reunited with forwards Tony Rogolofoi and Leo Ruluked and the backcourt of Tony Luzama and Elias Rangamar for one-last championship run.

But it took awhile before the Noumea SPG veterans clicked and they were ahead by only 3 points, 26-23, after the first quarter, thanks in large part to the 10 big points of inside-operator Yamada.

Old Aces greeted the second quarter with more passing and tougher interior defense. With Mesa forcing his shots and 6’4” center Bruce Berline throwing bricks from the free throw line, Dollar Days went down 31-45 at the half.

Dollar Days forced an up-tempo ballgame at the start of the third and managed to slice their deficit down to 6 points. With a chance to make it a 4-point game, Berline was fouled inside the painted area and conflicting calls by the referee and table officials caused a two-minute delay in the game.

The stoppage worked to Old Aces’ advantage as the team regained its bearings, went back to playing defense and closed the rest of the quarter on a big run that pushed them in front, 62-49, with 10 minutes to go in the contest.

Dollar Days was never the same after the controversial call with Mesa opting to shoot first than pass and Berline getting frustrated with missed opportunities up close.

It also didn’t help that Luzama rediscovered his shooting touch, which was missing since the first quarter, and Ruluked finally decided to join his teammates in the score column, firing 7 of the team’s last 9 points before reserve Mike White put the icing on the cake with a buzzer-beating layup.

Luzama top-scored for Old Aces with 27 points and the rest of the Fab Five registered 9 points or better for the evening. Mesa and Berline paced Dollar Days’ losing cause with 15 points apiece.

Old Aces’ win setup a knockout game for the second finals berth against Dyno-Sores tonight also at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. Tip-off starts at 6:30pm.

Last Thursday, Verizon secured twice-to-beat advantage in the finals after nipping Dyno-Sores, 81-78.

After Dyno-Sores swingman Gilbert Espinosa tied the count at 78-all, Verizon would score the final 3 points of the ballgame courtesy of free throws from Ed Cosino and Dado Vistal.

In the other game, Luzama fired 38 points and Rangamar was equally impressive with 35 leading Old Aces to a 107-94 win against CK Legends. The loss eliminated Legends from the competition.

Tuesday Game

Old Aces 90 – Luzama 27, Rangamar 20, Yamada 17, Ruluked 15, Rogolofoi 9, White 2, Celis 2, Limes 1.

Dollar Days 67 – Berline 15, Mesa 15, MacDuff 12, Alexander 6, A. Garcia 6, P. Garcia 6, B. Garcia 4, Miday 3, Abadilla 2.

Scoring by quarters: 26-23, 45-31, 62-49, 90-67.

Thursday

First Game

Old Aces 107 – Luzama 38, Rangamar 35, Rogolofoi 12, Ruluked 7, Celis 6, Limes 4, Aldan 3.

CK Legends 94 – Demapan 22, Ocampo 21, Lopez 15, Pangelinan 13, Muna 11, Villasan 10.

Scoring by quarters: 31-24, 56-49, 89-72, 107-94.

Second Game

Verizon 81 – Vistal 26, Cosino 22, Brostrom 10, Bicera 8, Paez 8, F. Palacios 5, Sablan 3.

Dyno-Sores 76 – Tamondong 18, Villegas 16, Valencia 14, Espinosa 13, Raho 8, Douglas 8.

Scoring by quarters: 17-18, 38-38, 63-50, 81-76.