Hawks snatch victory from Welflex in dying seconds

Dennis Lim
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Monday, October 31, 2011

Picture by: BT/Dennis Lim

SERIA Haws soared over Welflex Engineering 97-94 last night in the FAB-Queenielin Basketball Tournament at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat.

The match was decided in the dying moments of the game through a series of Aries Raymond Castro's free throws.

He scored an impressive 35 points for the Hawks while teammate Sonny Bautista notched another 34 points.

Welflex's Jess De Jesus and Dexter Carino scored 20 points each while Joel Vinluan added another 14 points in the loss.

The two teams played with vastly contrasting styles, the Hawks shooting their way to rack up points while Welflex charged into the paint to score on layups.

Welflex found themselves trailing 10-2 early on in the match but quickly showed that they weren't to be taken lightly.

They hustled and bustled their way to bring the game to within one point (16-15) at the end of the first quarter.

The matchup continued to be tight throughout the match and it was Welflex who led 36-34 by the end of the first half.

Spectators were kept on the edge of their seats and just when it looked like either team was going to break into a lead, the other team would respond almost immediately.

The fourth quarter started with both teams having notched 61 each.

There was nothing between the teams until the four minute mark when Hawks when on a run to build a 83-76 cushion.

Welflex would answer right back to once again level the points through Carino.

Unfortunately, that would be Welflex's last hurrah as Carino fouled out right after, along with De Jesus, Rommel Franciso, Bobby Boac and Lance Enriquez.

Vinluan would try to keep Welflex in contention and even had a chance to win the match with just 10 seconds left.

The scoreline read 94-93 to Welflex but Castro mustered up a moment of magic to win the game for his team through a late lay-up and free-throws.

In the second match of the night, Wisdom Jade Daycare Wildcats beat SGTB 97-87. The result of the third match was not known as of press time.The Brunei Times

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Darul exterminate Termicam

Dennis Lim
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Blow opponents away by a 36-point margin

NUSALAILA DARUL stamped their dominance against Termicam in their Group A Queenielin Basketball Tournament match yesterday, winning by a 36-point (96-60) margin.

Darul coach Lito Calina welcomed the win especially after his team's recent loss to Seria Hawks, adding that it was a team effort that got them the landslide victory.

"We don't have star players in the team but we have team-work, the players work well with each other. We have focused on defence from the start of the tournament and it has shown in our matches," he said.

Darul put on a show last night at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat.

Erik Eranes led the team with a game-high 20 points while Jonel Baltazar and Denver Esteban both scored 16 points each.

Rochie Mangaya added another 13 points in the win.

Jose De Luna was the highest scorer for Termicam with 12 points to his name while Ricky Laday put in 11 points in the loss.

Both teams struggled early on in the game but gained momentum by mid point of the first quarter.

Mangaya did most of the damage for his team in the period, his passes and drives left most of Termicam's players rooted.

Darul were looking strong as they played to find the open man, moving the ball around to free up their big men to score easy baskets in the paint, a play they exploited throughout the entire game.

Termicam, on the other hand, failed to protect the ball, resulting in multiple turn overs.

They could not get a hold of the match, playing a rushed and, consequently, ineffective game.

The contrasting Darul calmly took the first quarter 23-7 and proceeded to widen their lead as the game went on.

The Termicam players eventually calmed down and made the most of their possessions but despite their efforts still trailed 47-26 by the end of the half.Termicam improved their play in the third quarter, going blow for blow against their opponents.

Darul's Esteban would respond and step up on the defensive end of the floor to put a stop to Termicam's bright moment.

Termicam was determined to not go down without a fight, playing with vigour despite being down 30 points.

The last quarter of the match began with a 72-41 scoreline and a Darul victory was now imminent. There was nothing Termicam could do but watch as Darul cruised to the win.

The second match of the night saw Amigos take down Brunei Underground 87-60.

The Brunei Times

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Hawks soar against Nusalaila Darul

Dennis Lim
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Friday, October 28, 2011

Hua Ho Manggis take down OGS with one-point win

Sonny Bautista of Seria Hawks going for a lay-up

SERIA Hawks ensured that they would be the team flying high yesterday by successfully completing a comeback win in a last quarter scramble.

Hawks clinched a hard fought 71-68 win over Nusalaila Darul late in the last quarter of last night's FAB-Queenielin Basketball Tournament played at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat.

Darul led for more than three quarters in the match but lost out when it mattered most.

Hawks' sudden surge and urgency in the final period did not go unnoticed, especially by Darul's players who responded by playing a more physical game which eventually led to the flaring of tempers and, consequently, the fouling out of two of their players

Hawks did most of their damage through Sonny Bautista and Marlo Lagdan who racked up game-highs of 15 points each while teammate Nel Acoba added another 14 points to the victory.

Rochie Manggaya of Darul scored a team-high of 14 points for the losing side while Jonel Baltazar managed to basket 11 points. Both Denver Esteban and Erik Eranes added 10 points each for their team.

Darul looked set to have the game in hand right from tip off.

They were the stronger side for most of the game, controlling the flow of the match and making good plays to score easy baskets.

Hawks, meanwhile, had a rough start, struggling with their shots against a tough Darul defense.

The first quarter ended 20-11 in favour of Darul.

Hawks would respond and put up more of a fight from the second quarter onwards, led by Ken A Cabanilla.

Cabanilla started the second quarter with a solo drive against two of Darul's players, a sight that soon became a constant in the game for the Hawks.

They were also playing sharper and threatened to cut the deficit but Baltazar wasn't going to let his team's advantage slip away so easily, answering the Hawks run with a three pointer to cool down their momentum.

At one point, the scores were at 32-19 to Darul but a Hawks timeout would work wonders for the team.

They would use their pace and athleticism to cut the deficit to 38-33 by the end of the first half.

The third quarter was pretty much a repeat of the second quarter, with Darul having the upper hand in terms of defence and offensive opportunities.

Darul's Esteban proved to be a wall for the Hawks as his stifling defence would ensure that his team maintained a 56-49 lead going into the final period.

Hawks would put their heads down and try for a charge in the fourth quarter, immediately going on a run to cut their deficit to just three points (56-53).

Darul still maintained their calm play but Hawks physical plays were proving to be too much.

The tables were now turned with Hawks seeing more success in offence while Darul struggled in defence.

A freethrow, five minutes from time, by Lagdan levelled the scores at 58 a-piece but also sparked a scramble among the two teams.

Both teams would trade leads from then until Darul's Roland Enriquez and Esteban fouled out.

Despite this, the result of the match was still anyone's guess with the score tied three times within the final minute until Acoba stepped up to convert from the charity stripe, giving Hawks a three point lead that they would nurse until the buzzer.

The second match of the night saw Hua Ho Manggis edged out OGS with a one-point 63-62 victory.

The Brunei Times

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