MarPac, Office of the Governor perfect in R&J caging

MarPac and Office of the Governor are so far perfect in the Inaugural R&J Wine and Liquor Inter-Gov’t/Business League 2023.

MarPac is at a league leading 4-0 record after their 77-67 win against CUC on Tuesday, and Office of the Governor is right behind at 3-0 with their win over Joeten, 88-74, on Monday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Jeff Castro and Coby Santos were a pair of sharpshooters that led MarPac from the get-go. They, along with Ricky Riungel took it upon themselves to steer clear of CUC with an electric 22-13 first quarter.

The ball continued buzzing between MarPac’s crew as they went on to make more shots than they missed. CUC’s John Nekaifes and Christopher Sablan were a two-man wrecking crew as they tried to play the catch-up game with MarPac.

Nekaifes scored 24 just as Castro did, but MarPac’s starting five and their bench kept the gap a big one, 69-43, by the end of the third quarter.

CUC tried to make a comeback but came up short as MarPac’s Santos finished with 17 markers, Riungel with 10, while Frank Mettao had 8. CUC’s Sablan had 15 markers and Fredrick Dionisio contributed 11.

In the Office of the Governor-Joeten game, both teams were evenly matched as they came into the game without a loss.

But Office of the Governor’s starting five overpowered Joeten quickly and enjoyed an early 23-14 lead by the end of the first quarter.

It was a high-percentage game from outside the perimeter as both teams boasted snipers from the 3-point range. Team Office of the Governor had Jack Aranda who led his team with back-to-back 3-pointers throughout the game.

He was paired from within the paint by aggressive and accurate teammates Vince Igitol and Timmy Pangelinan, who assisted with tough drives and off-balanced jump shots.

Joeten was pummeled yet again by the end of the third quarter, 67-49, and their running for an undefeated streak was soon to be snapped. However, Joeten’s own marksman, Ervin Villarin, zoomed faster through the court as time wound down and grabbed at every opportunity that came his way.

He, along with his teammates tried to mount a big comeback in the fourth quarter—which saw the lead shrink more and more as Team Office of the Governor missed a lot of their shots, but Aranda and Igitol made sure the lead widened later on.

In the end, Aranda had a game-high 30 points, followed by Igitol’s 24, and Pangelinan’s 12. Villarin, for his efforts, came out with 26, with Alex Lauron at 17 points.

TUESDAY

MarPac 77 – J. Castro 24, Santos 17, Riungel 10, Mettao 8, Sablan 5, Scaliem Jr. 4, B. Castro 3, Borja 2, Nunez 2.

CUC 67 – Nekaifes 24, Sablan 15, Dionisio 11, Lopaka 10, Aikens 6, Taisacan 1.

Scoring by quarters: 22-13, 41-39, 69-43, 77-67.

MONDAY

Office of the Governor 88 – Aranda 30, Igitol 24, T. Pangelinan 12, Kwon 9, Taisague 7, K. Pangelinan 6.

Joeten 74 – Villarin 26, Lauron 17, Torres 6, Lilles 6, Quan 6, Ordona 4, Augustin 3, Cruz 3, Bondoc 2, Sambile 1.

Scoring by quarters: 23-14, 50-34, 67-49, 88-74.