Blue Haus caps 13-0 season with title

Blue Haus players pose for a team photo after beating Eagle Construction in Game 2 of the masters division finals of the Inaugural SCLC Basketball League last Saturday at the Gillette Multi-Purpose Gymnasium in Gualo Rai. (MARK RABAGO)

Blue Haus completed a two-game sweep in the best-of-three championship of the masters division of the Inaugural SCLC Basketball League after beating Eagle Construction, 98-89, last Saturday at the Gillette Multi-Purpose Gymnasium in Gualo Rai.

That win came a day after the No. 1 seeds blasted the surprise finalists, 114-77, last Friday also at the Gualo Rai gym. The two wins capped Blue Haus’ utter dominance in the 45-and-over division, as the powerhouse team went 13-0 the entire season—10-0 in the regular season and 3-0 in the one-game playoffs and the finals.

Playing coach Junar Guiab thanked team sponsors Blue Haus, especially its owner Cecile Camama, and Ali’i and owner Rob Harrell for continuing to support the squad. He added that their focus from the get-go was to complete a perfect season and following their two-game sweep of Eagle Construction, they accomplished that.

Last Saturday’s game was actually competitive compared to Friday’s, as Blue Haus didn’t run away with it after the first quarter and only led by 14 points, 30-16.

Eagle Construction continued to hang with Blue Haus in the second as ageless warrior Alex Ocampo was on target with 6 points, while Blue Haus got 11 points combined from former national player Ed Diaz and bull-strong Guiab.

Blue Haus gave its reserves some burn at the start of the third but even with second- and third-stringers in, Eagle Construction barely made a dent on their opponents’ lead as they faced a 76-61 deficit entering the fourth and final quarter.

Eagle Construction launched a spirited rally at the mid-point of the payoff period to cut Blue Haus’ lead to as low as 9 points on several occasion. Ocampo again turned back the hands of time with 14 big points in the fourth, but Blue Haus answered the comeback attempt with a flurry of points of their own as they slammed the door shut on their opponents to win the game and the finals running away.

John Santos bombed away from the land of plenty to match Diaz’s team-high 19 points, while Guiab and Diaz’s older brother, Tony, chipped in 14 and 12 points, respectively. Ocampo was the lone shining light in Eagle Construction’s otherwise futile run in Game 2 of the championship as he wound up with a game-high 24 points. Leo Itaas and Teng Alegre fired 13 and 11 markers apiece in the loss.

In Game 1, Blue Haus won the match literally in the opening quarter as they blasted a hapless Eagle Construction side, 40-10. The lead would only balloon further as the game went on. To add insult to injury (or injury to injury), Eagle Construction would lose main man Reynaldo Santos to an injury, which only served to handicap them more in Game 2 the very next day. Ed Diaz again paced seven Blue Haus players in double figures with 19 points, while Mike Surima led Eagle Construction with 12 markers.

Game 2 of the best-of-three championship in the open division between Lakay/Islander and Team Marianas will be played starting 6pm tonight at the Civic Center Basketball Court in Susupe.

FRIDAY
Blue Haus 114 – E. Diaz 19, Guiab 16, Esdrelon 15, T. Diaz 15, Peredo 12, Elchico 10, Berline 10, Buenabajo 6, Santos 6, Jumacquio 4.
Eagle Construction 77 – Surima 13, Alegre 11, Santos 10, Sublemente 8, L. Itaas 6, Umali 6, Sampang 5, Jacob 4, J. Itaas 3,
Scoring by quarters: 40-10, 72-24, 97-56, 114-77.

SATURDAY
Blue Haus 98 – J. Santos 19, E. Diaz 19, Guiab 14, T. Diaz 13, Peredo 6, Esdrelon 5, Alano 5, Elchico 4.
Eagle Construction 89 – Ocampo 24, L. Itaas 13, Alegre 11, Garcia 8, Umali 8, Surima 8, Sublemente 4, Ramos 3, Jacob 2, Sampang 2.
Scoring by quarters: 30-16, 51-38, 76-61, 98-89.