Eats Easy x The Game’s Terregoza gets fouled as he goes up for the shot during Saturday’s battle for third place in the open division of the UFO-IT&E Basketball League 2019 at the Gilbert C. Ada Gym. Photos by James F. Sablan Jr.
Against Islander Rent-A-Car in the open division, The Game had energy and it showed in its players’ strong start. Jun Fidelino was on fire as he could not miss from behind the three-point line, sinking four consecutive makes. He was not the only one in the spotlight as Prince Factor and Erdene combined for 14 points to give their team a 10-point advantage.
But the Islanders were able to turn the tables in the second canto using defense which created fastbreak opportunities on the other end. With each successful stop, Mark Mintac and Rodel Pastrana capitalized with back to back finishes for eight and six points. The Islanders were now in the lead, 49-44.
But they failed to keep up the momentum as The Game returned to the third quarter refreshed with Fedelino picking up where he left off. He gathered six points with Terrogoza right beside him with six of his own to match Mintac and Pastrana’s output. The Game regained the lead by one point, 66-65.
In the end, The Game held the upper hand as its players had the stamina to keep the pressure going while pushing the gap further out of reach. The Game won, 85-79, and received the third place trophy.
IT&E 78, Old iSkool 74
In the masters division, it was a close game between IT&E and Old iSkool.
It was a fairly even match but Old iSkool went for the Hail Mary during the second half, raining threes from Jun Estolas, Ed Pangelinan, James Abuy and Rommel Bartolo. But IT&E had a safer approach, attacking from inside the paint led by Sonny Lerio to secure victory, 78-74, and third place.
