Savemore, Jacob’s Bakeshop upset foes in semis

Savemore and Jacob’s Bakeshop both upset their foes in the Destroyers Basketball Club Invitational Basketball League 2024 semis at the Gillette Multi-Purpose Gymnasium last Friday.

Savemore upset No. 2 seed GMP x Yuman, 93-91, in the first semis of the night, while Jacob’s Bakeshop slipped past No. 1 seed Islander Rent A Car, 72-71, to wrap up the penultimate game of the league.

With less than a minute left, Yuman held on to a 1-point, 89-88 lead, but a crucial foul on Getsen Jandoc, and a quick putback by Alex Lauron switched favor to Savemore, 91-89.

Yuman’s Jether Medina, with just mere seconds on the clock, made a last-ditch and desperate fadeaway attempt at the basket which resulted in a tie, 91-91. However, a technical foul in favor of Savemore gave them another 1-point, 92-91 advantage.

Then, with less than 20 seconds left, Yuman failed to score in their last possession, which gave Savemore the last chance at the basket. Lauron was then fouled by Justine Enano in the fight for possession with 4.8 seconds left—which he sank for a 93-91 game.

Yuman had a sizable advantage, 43-36, thanks to Justine Enano and Jude Tengco’s 3-pointers and smart plays at the end of the first half, but Savemore’s fighting spirit didn’t let them down as they caught up and tied the game, 56-56, with 14 minutes left.

A breakdown of Yuman’s defense resulted in multiple turnovers—plus aggressive coast-to-coast plays by Lauron and Khristian David allowed them to close the gap with an abundance of time to spare.

Daryll Foronda was the 1-2 punch that Savemore relied on with Lauron and the lead teetered between the two until the last minutes of the game.

Foronda scored a game-high 25 points, while Rodjay Macaraig contributed 17, and Jandoc and Lauron put up twin 16 points. On the other hand, Enano had 22 markers, while Tengco and Medina scored a pair of 15 points.

In the second game of the night, Jacob’s Bakeshop’s Justin Dominguez scored the winning field goal to nose out Islander Rent A Car, 72-71, with seconds to spare and etch the second upset of the night.

Manuel Gatbonton scored a game-high 27 markers, while Dan Fernando scored 20, and EmmanBondad shot 12. Meanwhile, Webb Gontar put up 17, Nikko Mejarito scored 13, and Jerome Directo had 12 markers.

Last night’s championship game results will be posted in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.

First Game

Savemore 93 – Foronda 25, Macaraig 17, Jandoc 16, Lauron 16, Movilla 8, Malinay 7, David 4.

GMP x Yuman 91 – Enano 22, Tengco 15, Medina 15, Atencio 10, Licayan 8, Nuyles 8, Agustin 7, Tanagras 4.

Scoring by halves: 43-36.

Second Game

Jacob’s Bakeshop 72 – Gatbonton 27, Fernando 20, Bondad 12, Sy 4, Dominguez 4, Guzman 3.

Islander Rent A Car 71 – Gontar 17, Mejarito 13, Directo 12, Ferrer 10, Agustin 5, Javier 5, Broncano 4, Velasco 3, Dinglasan 2.

Scoring by halves: 33-27, 72-71.