Mobil shows ‘heart of champion’ in two-peat

Mobil’s head coach Marvin Deocares said he personally cherished the team’s second consecutive QQ Car Rental Basketball Cup Invitational League championship even more than the first one.

“This year’s field was more competitive than last season because the league lowered the age limit to 18 and allowed three Unified Basketball Association players on every team instead of two. Everybody stacked the teams this year and I lost four of my players from the first champion squad. It feels really good to prove the naysayers wrong,” said Deocares in a phone interview Wednesday.

Former players Elmer Esdrelon, Manolo Manalo, Edwin Santos, and Sam Fernandez left the team and opted to suit up for other squads. Esdrelon went to Konflikt Ali’i, Manolo went to runner-up Smart Cagers, while Santos and Fernandez went to Blue Haus.

“When I learned they pulled out, I was a little worried and disappointed, but after some more thought, I told my team to help and trust each other, play together and listen to me during the games,” said Deocares.

Gyles Ruluked, Marvin Rabauliman, Juan Maratita, and Angelo Fernando joined Mobil to help fill the void.

Early in the season Mobil struggled to gel as a team but the unit came together later on and turned it on big time during the playoffs.

“Heart is this team’s biggest strength. They never counted themselves out, even if we’re behind by double digits. The player’s resiliency surprised me and I am most proud of them for that, “ added Deocares.

Deocares has been coaching Mobil for 10 years and has clinched four titles in various leagues in that span.

In addition to the QQ Cup, Mobil has also competed in the UBA and Emon Lodge No. 179’s open leagues. Open leagues do not hold roster restrictions.

Mobil is currently setting its sites on the upcoming Unified Filipino Organization league set to start on July 31.

According to Deocares, the UFO field is wide open based on observations he made during recent league meetings.

Deocares expressed hopes of keeping the majority of his players for a run at a QQ Cup three-peat.

In recapping the QQ Cup finals, Mobil only had seven players in the opening match against Smart Cagers.

“I told our bench that we can’t do anything about being short-handed, and stressed to them that we have to hustle and not let them blow us out in the first half,” said Deocares.

“We managed to keep it a one-possession game at the half, 38-41, and the third quarter went back and forth until the last three minutes. We surged late in the third and we’re pleased with our position heading into the final minutes,” continued Deocares.

Mobil rebounded well, played smart defense, and did not miss its shots in the critical period, where it jumped out to an 18-point lead. Mobil held it together to take the first game, 90-74.

In the second match, Smart Cagers took an early 7-0 lead from the tip off and held its lead the whole game until the final 30 seconds.

“As we battled from behind I kept reminding them that we were still in the ballgame. I assured them that there is a way to win as I drew up some plays during the timeouts,” said Deocares.

Late in the game, Smart Cagers still held the upper hand, but botched a few crucial plays in the deciding final seconds.

“They were up by three points with 30 seconds left and I told our team to just go for two points and make a stand on defense. Instead, my point guard Jun Estolas took a 3-pointer that missed and [Smart Cagers] got the rebound, but we lucked out on a bad outlet pass and capitalized on the turnover,” said Deocares.

Deocares also admitted that he was surprised Smart Cagers did not take their final timeout with the lead to set up a plan in the final moments.

“They had the lead and could have set up a play or reminded each other of their options in the final seconds. We were losing and had to foul them and they knew it, but they didn’t take the timeout. Sure we were a little lucky, but we still earned it and showed the true heart of a champion,” said Deocares.

Estolas won the finals most valuable player honors in QQ Cup’s maiden season, while newcomer Ruluked was chosen as this year’s finals MVP.

“Gyles played well even when in foul trouble in Game 1 of the finals and continued to showcase his skills in Game 2. All season he consistently stepped up big in a number of high-pressure situations,” shared Deocares.

Ruluked also took home the Most Rebounds award and got a spot on the league’s “Top Five” roster along with front man Estolas.

“I’d like to thank our supporters, sponsors, the media, and league organizers for helping us build our reputation as a force in the local basketball scene. Thank you to all my players and the Mobil fans for never giving up—and to my critics—sorry, but we did it again,” laughed Deocares.

The next QQ Cup season is set to start some time in September or November of this year.