WarFit and DECA 8990 asserted their dominance in their respective pools in the 2016 Next5Hoops Metro Manila 1st South Leg Qualifier with convincing wins over the weekend.
WarFit remained the lone undefeated squad in pool 1 of the tournament arranged by One Unite Sports after tripping close rival 3W Builders, 79-69.
Both unscathed for most of the tournament, WarFit created a one-game separation as it improved to 6-0 while 3W Builders dropped to 5-1, good for second place.
Reynald Kian Cui and Ferdinand Ali-Ali churned out 16 points apiece for WarFit, which saw all of the nine players it fielded scored at least four points.
WarFit doused a late comeback from 3W Builders, which led briefly by one midway in the fourth quarter, with a 20-9 finishing kick.
Matthew Riel and Exequiel Panares had 15 points apiece while Jepoy Vito Cruz added 13 in a losing cause for 3W Builders.
In the other pool 1 game, Aling Lucy’s took down Grease Monkey, 85-81, to gain share of the third place. Both teams have identical 3-3 cards.
While Aling Lucy’s led most of the way, it proved to be a tight contest as Grease Monkey stayed within striking distance and never let its opponent lead by double digits.
After Grease Monkey took a 75-74 lead, an 11-6 rally in the final 3 minutes spelled the difference for Aling Lucy’s en route to the win.
Franklin Mancio of Aling Lucy’s matched Grease Monkey’s Karlo Sumabat point per point as both wound up with 26 markers to lead their teams.
But Aling Lucy found a weakness, pouncing on Grease Monkey’s erratic play for 27-4 edge in points from turnovers while registering 11 steals.
DECA 8990, meanwhile, widened its lead at the top of pool 2 with a 6-0 record after routing South Hills Royals, 97-81.
All but one of its starting five contributed double digit points with Chris Dalaten leading the way with 22 along with 11 boards. BJ Faundo, Josue Faustino and Jarics Lopez combined for 44 points.
Deca 8990 broke the game wide open in the second quarter, from just a two point lead to a 19-point advantage by the half as it outscored South Hills Royals, 26-9. The lead went to as high as 26, 54-80, early in the fourth quarter.
John Paul Redelick had 24 points while Reynaldo Malaga and Melo Lahora tamed up for 33 to lead South Hills Royals, which was totally demolished in the paint, 26-52.
Chargers created a three-way log jam behind DECA 8990 after a 111-107 nipping of Tsek Repablik in overtime in the other game in their pool.
Chargers, South Hills Royals and Tsek Repablik all now tote a 4-2 card, trailing the pool’s no. 2 and lone undefeated team.
After wasting the chance to wrap it up in regulation, Chargers made sure to not give Tsek Repablik anymore space with a wire-to-wire performance in extra time, leading by as big as 7.
John Philip Galabin had a monster showing for Chargers including the OT as he finished with 38 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes of play.
June Crespo also was impressive to Tsek Repablik with 29 points and eight rebounds, but couldn’t contribute in the final 5 minutes of the match.
