Surprisingly, Palacios and Fernandez both top shooters of the team, missed one of their two free throws leaving those they made just enough to force an overtime, then, IT&E hanged on to their lead during the extra five minutes and beat Konflikt by a 11 points to clinch the 2010 MGD 64 Masters Basketball Championship that is set for Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gym. It was an unnecessary foul that gave away Konflikt’s chance not only to grab the finals slots but also to humiliate the power house team that remained undefeated from the regular season all the way to the playoff.
“We stunned them with our defense,” Konflikt’s Sam Fernandez said when asked how they were able to take the lead in the last minute of the fourth quarter, which hardly happened in all of IT&E’s game.
Gus Palacios fired nine of his 26 points including a three-pointer to help IT&E grab the lead in the first quarter.
Ernie Fernandez never lost his pulse for perimeter shots as he bombarded Konflikt with 10 of his 22 points in the second quarter and IT&E stretched their lead to 11 points before the half time break.
Team captain Edzel Mendoza controlled the offense in this period to sizzle with 10 of his 22 points.
Junar Guiab and Jorge De Guzman combined wit and built to dominate IT&E in the middle of the third quarter, both firing seven markers to help Konflikt close in.
Jun Alipio’s six point and Sam’s pair of two-pointers helped Konflikt keep pace, then, Guiab grabbed the rebound with in the last half minute of the fourth quarter, went up for the basket and made it.
However, IT&E had a few seconds left to stay alive, and the fouls given up by Konflikt saved their day. They beat Konflikt, 90-79.
“That was our best game,” Mendoza said as he leaves the gym after the game.
Scores:
IT&E 90 – G. Palacios 26, E. Fernandez 22, E. Mendoza 22, B. Berline 6, J. Manibusan 6, J. Palacios 3, Y. Gabaldon 2, B. Tejada 2.
Konflikt 79 –J.Guiab 21, S. Fernandez 16, J. De Guzman 14, J. Alipio 12, HG. Park 8, M. Martin 4.
Quarterscores: 20-17, 44-33, 64-57, 90-79
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