Verizon dials up another win in MDX

The second weekend in August got off with a bang on the basketball courts on Saturday afternoon as Verizon 287 Club unplugged JCN Ent. by a nickel in a thrilling 71-66 contest in continuation of the 2nd MDX Basketball League at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The squeaks of sneaks echoed off of the Oleai facility’s walls in the first quarter as Darwin Barbo led all scorers with eight points to put Verizon ahead with an 18-11 advantage before the buzzer sounded.

After receiving some coaching from teammate Elmer Pineda during the break, Barbo returned with more of the same in the second as he and “R” Mungcal led their squad with four apiece.

Despite outscoring the field with nine points in the second, Andres Estolas and JCN couldn’t overcome the deficit and went into the half down six, 32-26.

Estolas led all scorers in the third quarter as well with seven points, but Verizon saw eight of its shooters add tallies to its total and extended its lead to nine points.

The “E-Man” continued to blaze a trail of fire toward the hoop in the fourth by netting 11 in the final quarter to finish with a game-high 30, but the one man show was still unable to disconnect Verizon’s Sinca, as he scored eight en route to the victory.

The stingy Verizon defense took care of the rest as they slammed the door on JCN. Richard Pambid ruled the rim by reeling in 12 rebounds, while Barbo snatched 10, and Mungcal got nine.

The second game was free from the trappings of stingy defenses as Poohdeni poured a triple-digit surprise on S.I.P. in a barn-burner that saw more people scored at the Ada Gym than the Chicken Ranch.

Ed Cosino and Jawn Joyner rocked the rims for a total of 40 points while their teammates Lester Babauta and Bing Marasigan combined for 27. That would normally be enough for a solid outing at the courts, but Poohdeni received production in the form of 39 points from five others to deliver the P-A-I-N to S.I.P.

The scoring started from the jump as Poohdeni took a commanding 32-18 lead in the first quarter with Cosino, Marasigan, and Jorge DeGuzman hitting for six, but Joyner and Babauta picked up the slack in the second with 13 points between them to extend the lead to 54-36 at the half.

Elmer Esdrelon came out of nowhere for S.I.P. after the break to lead all scorers with 13 in the third, but despite his outburst, his squad still trailed by 18 at the buzzer, 81-63.

Cosino returned to lead Poohdeni in the final quarter with 10 points, but the master of many sports—Jester Garcia—went on a rampage by scoring 18 of his 22 in the fourth.

Garcia was not enough to lift S.I.P. to victory, but Cosino’s action on the boards raised more eyebrows than the girls on the Paseo de Marianas, as the big man picked up 15 rebounds in the win.

First Game

Verizon 71 – Mungcal 18, D. Barbo 15, Sinca 14, Gatdula 10, Pambid 9, Sampang 6, Aguilar 2, G. Barbo 1.

JCN Ent. 66 – Estolas 30, Cequena 14, Villarin 9, Artates 5, Aranda 5, Palma 3.

Scoring by quarters: 18-11, 32-26, 51-42, 71-66.

Referees: Noel Delos Santos, Arnold Mesa, and Gilbert Espinosa.

Second Game

Poohdeni 106- Cosino 24, Joyner 16, Babauta 14, Muleta 13, Macasoac 9, De Guzman 8, Gamboa 7, De Belen 2.

S.I.P. 97 – Garcia 22, Esdrelon 20, Factor 13, Amado 12, Villacrusis 8, Flores 7, Alegre 7, Guiab 4, Mendoza 2, Mendiola 2.

Scoring by quarters: 32-18, 54-36, 81-63, 106-97.

Referees: Dado Vistal, Gilbert Espinosa, and Jess Pacheco.