Dai-Ichi, Mobil arrange finals tiff

Dai-Ichi Hotel Saipan Beach and host Mobil came up big in the clutch and advanced to the finals of the Mobil Oil Mariana Islands Co-ed Invitational Basketball League Tuesday evening in front of a jam-packed Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Pennant champion Dai-Ichi came through in the dying seconds and earned the right to face Mobil in the title bout with a nail-biting 70-69 victory over defending champion Aqua Resort Club.

Dai-Ichi led for most parts of the game, opening by outscoring their opponents 22-16 in the first period, courtesy of six points apiece from cage belle Noe Okohira, Adonis Macoto, and Larry Lizo.

Without having to worry about Okohira in the second quarter, Aqua Resort began chipping into the Dai-Ichi lead. The defending champions focused on working the ball to towering center Dalewin Cortez, who went off for 11 points, seven coming from the charity line after drawing five fouls. With Cortez using his height and footwork in the paint, the hoteliers from the northern end of the island cut the deficit to a single point, 35-36, as the game headed into halftime.

The tightly fought battle carried over into the second half as both teams continued to push on all cylinders. Both teams contested almost every shot, but Dai-Ichi managed to pad their lead with three points going into the fourth and final quarter, 55-52.

With their title repeat on the line, Aqua Resort drew energy from their supporters, including a live band, and fought hard to take a 63-62 lead when point guard Ziddy Johannes scooted in for a basket.

Dai-Ichi quickly regained advantage on an inside bucket by veteran forward Tom Alegre with just over four minutes left, but Aqua Resort responded with a bomb from downtown courtesy of J.E.Torres, 66-64.

Cortez nailed one of two free throws to go up, 67-64, but that was the last lead Aqua Resort would hold as Alegre muscled his way in the paint for a field goal and guard Elmer Esdrelon connected from long range to give Dai-Ichi a 69-67 lead with 55.9 seconds remaining.

Aqua Resort again leaned on Cortez, who came through by drawing another foul and hitting both attempts from the free throw line to tie the game, 69-69.

The defending champions had a golden opportunity to regain the lead, but missed on a 3-point attempt, with the ball bouncing into the hands of Macoto, who was fouled by Cortez with 26.1 seconds left. Macoto hit one of two free throws for a 70-69 advantage.

Dai-Ichi then came up with huge stops as Colin Thompson blocked a layup by Johannes and Esdrelon stripped Bogs Dayrit clean to preserve the victory.

Esdrelon and Okohira led Dai-Ichi with 17 and 10 points, while Cortez and Johannes paced Aqua Resort with 26 and 16 points. Dayrit also contributed 14 points.

Earlier, Mobil got huge shots from its lead players to beat Commonwealth Ports Authority, 103-100.

CPA controlled the match in the early goings and posted a comfortable 54-39 advantage at the break, but Mobil came storming back in the third and cut the lead to just a field goal, 76-78, as forward Errol Peredo and Andres “Jhun” Estolas torched the net for 14 and 13 points.

CPA slotman Jawn Joyner helped CPA build their lead up to six points, but Mobil refused to throw in the towel and put up a late charge that got them over the hill.

A layup by Estolas gave Mobil a 97-96 lead with 1:51 left, and after CPA knotted the game on a Jerome Reyes free throw, Estolas hit another shot for a 99-97 lead.

After Joyner hit one of two free throws, 98-99, Peredo and CPA’s Dave Sablan traded baskets for a score of 101-100 in favor of Mobil with a little over a minute remaining.

Mobil then worked the ball around patiently and forward Junar Guiab came through in the clutch, nailing a perimeter jumper just before the shot clock expired for a 103-100 lead.

Reyes then missed a jumper and Mobil got the rebound and held on for the win.

Peredo and Estolas led Mobil with 35 and 31 points, while Edwin Torre and Guiab finished with 20 and 14 points.

Reyes had a solid outing and paced CPA with 26 points, while cage belle Debbie Gerads and Sablan added 21 and 19 points. Joyner finished with 16 points.

Aqua Resort and CPA will battle for third place at 3pm Saturday, while Dai-Ichi and Mobil square off for the coveted title at 4:30pm.

First Game
Mobil 103—Peredo 35, Estolas 31, Torre 20, Guiab 14, Galzope 4.
CPA 100—Reyes 26, Gerard 21, D. Sablan 19, Joyner 16, Mizutani 6, C. Sablan 6, Guerrero 2, Elisiar 2, Celis 2.
Scoring by quarters: 18-25, 39-54, 76-78, 103-100.
Referees: Jess Pacheco and Ray Lizama.

Second Game
Dai-Ichi 70—Esdrelon 17, Okohira 10, Lizo 8, Macoto 8, Jinang 7, Alegre 6, Thompson 3, Cho 3, Tobias 3, Douglas 2, Alipala 2, Galag 1.
ARC 69—Cortez 26, Johannes 16, Dayrit 14, Torres 5, Sorema 4, Jones 2.
Scoring by quarters: 22-16, 36-35, 55-52, 70-69.
Referees: Dado Vistal and Noel Delos Santos.