G4S takes lead, Fiesta recovers

G4S took the early lead, while Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan bounced back in the Inaugural Shirley’s Coffee Shop Invitational Basketball League following their separate wins Wednesday night at the JP Center Basketball Court in Garapan.

G4S improved to a 2-0 record for the solo lead in the six-team field after whipping Micronesian Brokers, Inc., 61-41, in the second game. Fiesta, which lost to G4S last Sunday, nipped Shirley’s Coffee Shop in the curtain raiser, 72-67.

Timely baskets from Jimmy Salazar and Ferdie De La Torre helped Fiesta halt Shirley’s rally and preserve the win.

Fiesta led by as much as 11 in the second quarter, 33-22, but Shirley’s came back behind Jersh Angeles and Dindo Laxa and led the game at 65-64, with less than four minutes left in the fourth period.

Salazar, who had only two points in the first three quarters, muscled his way inside and made two baskets in the ensuing plays. On both occasions, Salazar drew a foul, but completed only one three-point play. De La Torre also had a three-point play for a 7-3 windup.

In the second game, G4S caught MBI on a bad scoring night to nail a 19-point win.

MBI had only Art Trajano scoring more than a field goal in the first quarter and the team was held to 17 points.

G4S also started slow and tallied only 15 markers in the first period. G4S had another 15-point output in the second period and took an 11-point lead at halftime, as it held MBI to seven markers, 30-19.

G4S was consistent with its offense in the third period, firing 15 more points, while MBI continued to struggle, scoring nine. Entering the final canto, G4S enjoyed a 17-point lead, 45-28, and MBI never recovered with only Alvin Alvarez, Ryan Cabrera, and Marvin Achas making baskets in the fourth period.

MBI dropped to a 1-1 record, tying Fiesta for third place. Advanced X-Terminators are in second place with a 1-0 slate and will go for win No. 2 tonight against Fiesta at 6:30pm.

G4S will aim for its third straight victory against Shirley’s, which is looking for its first win after a 0-2 start, in the second game.
[B] First Game

Fiesta 72 [/B]– Esdrelon 23, De La Torre 10, Ong 10, Mojar 10, Salazar 6, Licop 4, Maliwanag 4, Rabago 3, Moran 2, Garcia 2.

[B]Shirley’s 67[/B] – Laxa 26, Angeles 16, Nicdao 14, Catungal 4, Pineda 2.

[B]Scoring by quarters:[/B] 17-16, 35-27, 53-45, 72-67.

[B]Second Game

G4S 61[/B] – Guiab 28, Basa 15, Banatasa 6, Chavez 3, Serrano 3, Sison 2, Larioza 2.

[B]MBI 42[/B] – Trajano 12, Alvarez 9, Achas 8, Barbo 7, Cabrera 4, Sese 2.

[B]Scoring by quarters:[/B] 15-12, 30-19, 45-28, 61-42.