Islander Rent-A-Car’s Frank Ferrer gets fouled as he goes up for a layup during a game against GMP x Yuman in the Destroyers Basketball Club Invitational Basketball League 2024 at the TSL Sports Complex on Sunday.
Islander Rent-A-Car’s Nikko Mejarito takes the jump shot over a defender during a game against GMP x Yuman in the Destroyers Basketball Club Invitational Basketball League 2024 at the TSL Sports Complex on Sunday.
IN the battle of the undefeated, Islander Rent-A-Car emerged victorious, 92-90, thanks to the clutch three-point shot made by Frank Ferrer within the last 13 seconds of the game to hand GMP x Yuman their first loss in the Destroyers Basketball Club Invitational Basketball League 2024 at the TSL Sports Complex on Sunday.
Both teams were evenly matched with several lead exchanges filling the opening half of the game.
GMP x Yuman controlled the early minutes with great ball movement that created open looks. Joemar Agustin, Justin Enano and Jude Tengco thrived from within the perimeter with reliable finishes while Jether Medina extended their offensive options from beyond the arc with back-to-back triples to give their team a slight lead.
But Islander gradually found their groove and made their comeback. The inside work of Jerome Directo and Webb Gontar kept the team within reach as they scored nine and five points, respectively. Frank Ferrer delivered three triples while the rest of the team focused on attacking the rim with Jordan Dinglasan and Benedict Villocero joining the fray as Islander grasped the upper hand going into halftime, 44-40.
While Islander excelled from inside, GMP x Yuman continued to rain down triples throughout the second half.
Medina picked up where he left off connecting three more buckets while Enano and Sean Licayan added extra firepower from long range with four apiece to allow their team to stay within reach and eventually take the lead.
Gontar and Directo remained the biggest contributors for Islander but they slowly started to fall behind due to the lack of offensive help. Fortunately, Nikko Mejarito, who did not score in the first half, suddenly caught on fire, scoring 10 consecutive points to keep the team afloat.
During the last 10 minutes of the game GMP x Yuman lost Enano, who was a crucial part of their offensive production, due to excessive fouls, but Raymond Atencio quickly filled the role by scoring eight straight points followed by Licayan’s crucial three-pointer. Medina was then fouled at the three-point line and sank the first two free throws to give his team a two-point advantage, 90-88.
With 13 seconds left on the clock, Medina missed his third and final attempt, which gave Islander a scoring opportunity during a transition play. After securing the rebound, Mejarito quickly found Dinglasan who brought the ball past half court and made the cross-court pass to the unguarded Frank Ferrer at the wing where he connected the clutch three-pointer to regain the lead, 91-90.
GMP x Yuman still had a chance with nine seconds remaining but missed the attempt and was forced to foul in order to stop the clock with Dinglasan splitting the free throws to secure the win for Islander, 92-90.
