Elite Force’s Manuel Gatbonton rises up for a heavily contested shot against Bio-Pro in a basketball game of the 2024 Destroyers Friendly Games League at the TSL Sports Complex.
ELITE Force sits at the top of the food chain of the 2024 Destroyers Friendly Games League after acquiring their sixth win by outlasting Lamesa Kusina, 67-62, at the TSL Sports Complex last Sunday.
It was a true test of will as both teams lit up the opening half of the game.
Elite Force lived by the three-point line with Gerard Doque, Gab De Guzman and Mark Aycardo connecting the first three buckets from afar. The bombardment was continued by Manuel Gatbonton and Justine Dominguez while Reyes took over the remaining 10 minutes with three triples.
On the other end, Lamesa Kusina returned fire with Natividad draining back-to-back threes. But where they excelled was within the paint with Albert Agustin and Jonathan Broncano establishing their dominance with seven and nine points, respectively, as their team trailed by just one possession, 37-39.
Lamesa Kusina stuck to their initial strategy throughout the second half as they continued to thrive. Although they barely had good looks from beyond the arc, that did not stop Natividad from delivering as he cooked up 10 points from around the perimeter.
Defensively, Lamesa Kusina was able to shut down Elite Force’s productivity from long range. But as time progressed, fatigue started to affect Lamesa Kusina’s performance leaving several cracks in their defensive wall during the last eight minutes of the game. Elite Force’s Gatbonton then took over the spotlight, capitalizing off Lamesa Kusina’s slow reaction with constant inside attacks to gather 13 points, including four straight clutch shots, to maintain the upper hand en route to victory, 67-62.
Bio-Pro had the chance to share the throne with Elite Force but was denied the opportunity by Vinz Rodriguez’s game-winning three-pointer to hand Vizion Insurance the victory, 95-94.
Also joining the winner’s circle was NAPA which outscored Yabangis, 75-63.
