Vendetta, Spigen ease past foes

Spigen’s Dick Tibayan pulls up for a jumper against three Silencer defenders during an earlier game in the IT&E-sponsored Ali’i Blue Haus caging at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Vendetta finally broke into the win column, while Spigen boosted its playoffs chances in the 2nd Ali’i Blue Haus Invitational Basketball League.

After a 0-6 start, Vendetta got its first victory in the competition following an 87-74 triumph over the skidding Gold Ballers (2-6) in the second game of the triple-header at the Gillette Multipurpose Gymnasium last Sunday. In the last match, Spigen also earned a double-digit win over the Green Minded, 84-74.

Lerio Pagarao held his own against Green Minded’s Ivan Devero, scoring 25 points and drawing enough support from his teammates to lift Spigen to victory No. 5 in nine games. Mike Umali added 16 points for Spigen, which drew 12 apiece from Gani Cortez and Bruce Berline and 14 more from Ferdie Tobias and Dick Tibayan.

While Spigen spread the wealth, Green Minded was left with no choice but to lean heavily on Devero, as only six players showed up for the game last weekend. Devero finished with a game-high 27 points and had only J.R. Barrios helping him out, as the latter contributed 21 markers.

Devero was the only Green Minded player to earn more than a field goal in the fourth quarter, making it hard for his squad to overhaul Spigen’s double-digit lead. In contrast, Berline, Tibayan, Pagarao, and Cortez scored at least 4 points each for Spigen in the final canto.

With the win, Spigen retains its spot (No. 6) at the top half of the team standings. Only the Top 8 after the round-robin elimination will advance to the playoffs and Spigen must win one of its two remaining games to avoid complications going into the next round. Spigen shares the No. 6 spot with Green Minded, while Team Sawi is not far behind with its 4-4 mark, and Empe Light (3-6) is still in contention

Meanwhile, in the second game, Vendetta got off to a strong start and never looked back to snap its skid. Ed Pangelinan dropped 10 of his 16 points in the first quarter to give Vendetta a 28-12 advantage. James Dela Cruz and Gino Libuw then took over in the second period to keep the wide margin en route to their 13-point victory.

Despite ending its slide, it’s a little bit late for Vendetta as the team remained at the bottom half of the team standings (No.11).

Second Game
Vendetta 87— Libuw 26, Dela Cruz 19, Castro 19, Ed Pangelinan 16, Sablan 5, Tenorio 2,
Gold Ballers 74— Factor 20, Usi 17, Cortez 16, Velasco 11, Mateo 5, Manabat 2, Alano 2, Leomo 1.
Scoring by quarters: 28-12, 44-28, 72-57, 87-74.

Third Game
Spigen 84 — Pagarao 25, Umali 16, Cortez 12, Berline 12, Tobias 8, Tibayan 6, Aniciete 4, Marilla 3.
Green Minded 74 —Devero 27, Barrios 21, Omampo 11, Tibayan 11, Vergara 4.
Scoring by quarters: 19-11, 38-28, 59-49, 84-74.