Ol’Aces dethrone Sonics

The Ol’Aces Nak Nakashima, left, challenges the shot of the Sonics’ Mii Tekopua during the fourth quarter of their title game in the boys U19 division of the Tan Holdings holiday caging last Saturday at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Ol’Aces foiled the Sonics’ title defense bid after eking out a 64-62 victory in their boys U19 finals duel in the 2015 Tan Holdings Christmas Basketball Tournament last Saturday at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium.

The Ol’Aces made a couple of defensive stops down the stretch to hang on to the 2-point lead and prevent the Sonics from winning back-to-back championships in the annual tournament. The Sonics ruled the 2014 division of the competition after routing Rollers 1 in the finals, 88-64. The Ol’Aces also joined the same tournament and lost to Dream Team in the battle for third place, 46-62.

In the 2015 finale, the Sonics fell short, as they failed to score against the Ol’Aces’ pesky defense in the last 26 seconds of the game.

The Sonics, who moved within two after Michael Espinosa knocked in a pair of free throws, had a chance to tie the match after Gerald Flores picked Aiferson Atan’s pocket on the Ol’Aces frontcourt and threw a pass to the former for a fastbreak play. However, Jerald Castillo tapped the ball away from a driving Espinosa for the Ol’Aces first defensive stop.

The Ol’Aces then played another honest defense in the ensuing play with Nak Nakashima raising both his arms against Mii Tekopua, who attempted for a turnaround shot inside the paint and missed. Nakashima collared the rebound and was fouled by Tekopua, down to 18.9 seconds in the match.

The Sonics gave up one more foul to stop the clock before Espinosa and Fidelino hounded Wilfredo Francisco and forced a held ball after the inbound play. At this time, the Sonics were awarded the ball, as possession arrow pointed to their side.

The Sonics were left with 9.7 seconds to hit the equalizer or a game-winning triple. Neither happened, as again, the Ol’Aces’ defense held on. Fidelino made the inbound for the Sonics and passed the ball to Djay Ong at the right corner, while the latter swung the leather to Flores at the right key. Both Ong and Flores were well covered by Ol’Aces defenders so they had to make the extra pass with the former forced to hand the ball to Fidelino. Fidelino eventually lost possession, as Atan sneaked from behind, stealing the ball and dribbling toward their frontcourt before throwing up the leather as time expired.

Atan paced the Ol’Aces with his 17 points, while Nakashima contributed 15. Espinosa led the Sonics with his 15 markers, while Ong added 13.

The 2-point loss was the Sonics’ second in as many games against the Ol’Aces, who pulled off a 46-44 victory in the elimination behind Castillo’s triple in the closing seconds of the match.

The finalists ended up with similar 3-1 records in the elims and set up their title showdown after the Sonics defeated Rollers 2 and the Ol’Aces won over Rollers 1.

In the finals, neither team managed to pull away. The Sonics led by only 6 at the end of the first period, 18-12, but by halftime, the match was back to square one, 32-all. The match remained tight after the third with the Ol’Aces clinging to a 49-48 lead. It was the same story in the fourth with the Ol’Aces leaning on their scramble defense to rattle the Sonics.

Ol’Aces 64—Atan 17, Nakashima 15, B. Norita 9, Olopai 7, Lizama 4, Castillo 4, Francisco 4, Iba 2, Moses 2.

Sonics 62—Espinosa 15, Ong 13, Javier 8, Castro 7, Tekopua 6, Flores 4, Rivera 3, Feria 2, Fidelino 2, Lansang 2.

Scoring by quarters: 12-18, 32-32, 49-48, 64-62.