AS the 2021 Islandwide Men’s Bud Light Basketball playoffs draw near, the Devil Dog Warriors solidified their chances for the title by powering past Rampage 81-56 Monday at the Tinian multi-purpose gymnasium.
It was a seesaw battle. In the opening quarter, Rampage heated up quickly thanks to Walker who converted two shots from behind the three-point line and added four more points to give his team the lead 22-16.
Rampage started to slow down during the second quarter as they were a man short due to injury, but the remaining players managed to hold onto a two-point lead.
In the second half, however, the Warriors unleashed a tremendous barrage of three-point shots led by Montgomery, Kubinski and Kada to give their team a comfortable 62-42 advantage.
With Rampage’s main scorers Walker, Pascua, Borja and J. Epity unable to find their rhythm, the Warriors soon sealed a convincing 81-56 victory.
SMA vs RNV
The second game of the night was an intense battle between SMA and RNV.
SMA had six players only, but that did not stop them from putting up a fight.
In the first quarter, SMA performed at their peak as they went on a 16-0 run led by Doria who scored eight points.
But RNV were able to tighten up their defense and break their silence in the second canto by cutting down SMA’s lead, 8-27.
After the halftime break, RNV seemed to have turned the tables around as they suddenly exploded on offense.
Udaundo sparked the run by scoring eight points; Rizardo delivered two triples; and Bungabong scored six points all the while keeping SMA to just six team points.
SMA still led 33-28, but in the final 10 seconds of the game, RNV further stepped up their game with constant drives toward the hoop and a handful of three-point attempts.
Unfortunately, they fell short and SMA escaped with a 48-44 victory.
On Oct 29, Friday, the single elimination playoffs will feature Team Kio going up against Team CNMI while Rampage and the Devil Dog Warriors will square off again.
The Devil Dog Warriors and team Rampage discuss the rules before the start of their game Monday in the 2021 Islandwide Men’s Bud Light Basketball Tournament at the Tinian multi-purpose gymnasium.
