Docomo clinches title of Budweiser caging

Docomo Pacific secured the championship in the 2008-2009 BANMI/Budweiser Basketball League after outlasting Ol’Aces in the title match, 88-80, Friday at the Garapan Basketball Court.

Docomo came out in the title game with faster legs and more stamina to beat a cramping and foul-troubled Ol’Aces team to wrap up the season early. Had Ol’Aces won, they could have forced a Game 2 and gain another chance for the championship. Docomo had a twice-to-beat advantage going into Friday’s finals after sweeping its first three games in the playoffs.

Ol’Aces had an opportunity to win Game 1, as they led by as much as 13 points in the third period, 51-38, with Freddie Pelisamen finally finding his mark in the second half.

Pelisamen struggled in first half, as he was not used to playing in a hard court, making only a field goal after 20 minutes of play. In the second half, Pelisamen made Ol’Aces’ first basket and at one time scored 10 straight points to give his team its biggest lead.

But Docomo recovered midway in the third behind Kelvin Fitial, Mark Wallace, and Ryan Sanciangco. The trio teamed up in Docomo’s 19-8 scoring for about four minutes with Wallace’s three-point play putting the team in the lead, 58-57, with less than a minute left on the clock.

Docomo never looked back from thereon, as Ol’Aces were a step slower defending the former’s fastbreak plays in the fourth. Ol’Aces also missed several easy shots and committed a couple of turnovers, as they simply did not have the legs to match up against a faster Docomo crew.

At halftime, while Docomo was doing drills, most of Ol’Aces’ players were seated at the bench gasping for breath. Peter Camacho was seen massaging his legs in between dead-balls all throughout the game.

Ol’Aces had one final chance to force Game 2 when Jack Lizama split his charities and cut Docomo’s lead to one, 69-70, with 5:10 left in the fourth. Docomo missed on its offensive set and Pelisamen grabbed the rebound and sprinted to their frontcourt. Pelisamen eluded two Docomo defenders from backcourt and took off for a layup only a few steps past the 15-foot line, but the shot was a bit short.

After Pelisamen’s sorry miss, Docomo answered with a short 6-0 run on Wallace’s two layups and Fitial’s undergoal stab to widen the gap, 76-69, going into the last four minutes of the game.

Sanciangco and Ponce Rasa put the finishing touches on Docomo’s title-clinching win, making a couple of easy layups in the ensuing plays.

Wallace top-scored for Docomo with 23 points, while four of his teammates also contributed in double figures. Fitial made 15, Sanciangco had 13 and Rasa and James Villacrusis chipped in 12 and 10 markers, respectively.

Pelisamen paced Ol’Aces with 31 points, while Gabriel White was the only other Ol’Aces player to finish in double figures with 10.

Lizama, who fired 14 points in Ol’Aces’ semis win over Diamond, was held to seven markers, as he drew three early fouls in the first period. Elias Rangamar made only a triple in the opening canto and fouled out in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. Peter Camacho also went to the showers midway in the payoff period due to five fouls.

Docomo 88 – Wallace 23, Fitial 15, Sanciangco 13, Rasa 12, Ja. Villacrusis 10, Palacios 4, Manibusan 4.
Ol’Aces 80 – Pelisamen 31, White 10, P. Camacho 9, Iginoef 9, Lizama 7, Renguul 6, Rangamar 3.
Scoring by quarters: 19-15, 33-32, 60-59, 88-80.