An Uphill Battle Till the End

AN UPHILL BATTLE TILL THE END

by Leo C. Diarios - PBL Official Sports Writer

It was the turn of DBD and OCF to show off their wares after the game of JUSL & JTLG. But by then, the morning heat started to scorch everyone in the court so most of the ladies and children watched the game from inside the building. However, most brethren stayed on the outside to watch the game that looked to them so exciting. They just knew they would be seeing a fair match-up ahead. They just simply would not want to miss it.

The 1st ball possession was won by DBD but it resulted in an early turnover. Indeed the game showed some remarkable excitement. Both teams displayed stiff defense and every shot of an opponent was challenged. More than 5 minutes had gone and the score was still at 5 – 2, in favor of DBD. The crowd was roaring at every ball possession that was challenged. Until, Gagui of OCF gave a beautiful assist to Estrada which he converted unmolested underneath, bringing the score at 12 – 11, and their 1st taste of the lead. From there, the OCF Greenies padded their lead to 9 points with 2:00 remaining in the 1st half of play, 22 – 13 was the score.

Unfortunately, a 2nd foul by Gagui brought him back to the bench. Sensing blood, the DBD Yellows wasted no time attacking the baskets. Slowly, they tried to bring back their bearings and they started to make creative shots, one after another, the last one being a buzzer-beater by Fuentes. The 1st canto ended with a 1-point advantage to OCF, 22 – 21.

The 2nd half of the game was so closed. There were many lead-changes approaching the last 5 minutes of the game. OCF could not pull away from DBD Yellows. Two converted free-throws and 2 successful baskets by Pabilonia and a triple by Fuentes drew them closer to OCF. The score was 42 – 39, OCF leading, with 3:13 time left. However, the lack of experience playing in the tournament had finally caught up with the Yellow Boys. They started to commit errors after another and Paclipan converted 9 points in that short span of time, 5 of which came from the free-throw area, 50 – 41 was the score with time down to 1:12. Fuentes made his last 3-point shot of the game and Abeltonar hit his own 3 points to close the gap at 55 – 49, OCF finally winning their first ballgame.

The score:
OCF (55) – Paclipan (19), Estrada (12), Gagui (12), Lagasca (4), Boracay (4), Dominguez (2), Venus (2)
DBD (49) – Fuentes (20), Pabilonia (14), Abeltonar (6), Castillo (6), Mabulay (2), Dodyco (1)

Best Player: Paclipan (OCF)

Best Crowd Support / Morale Booster: DBD fans

Heroes of the game: Table Officials