All he needed was to make one of the bonus shots to break the tie and give Noni Saipan the most
important win over the Diamond Fixers last Tuesday as UBA Men’s League moves ahead to the finals.
The strong gust of wind which seemed to have been swaying the ball out of way favored the Fixers and Basila missed his first throw.
He made the second one but the Fixers still had the grace of seven minutes to turn it around.
Elmer Esdrelon dribbled through and was aiming for the winning two-pointer when he saw White Capalad unguarded on the left.
He passed the ball but Capalad was not expecting it so it slipped past his hands, went out of bound and the game was over.
Esdrelon who controlled the game the whole time did not score in was the first half. But Bruce Berline as there to take care of the center spot and did it really well. Berline’s offensive rebound was as stunning as his defensive jumps helping the Fixers close-in in the beginning of the second half.
Noni tightened their defense and curbed the Fixers score to 10 points in the second quarter.
Jeremy Tamayo and Luis Abuel pulled it away in the third firing five and six of their total points.
Noni gained momentum in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter but Ivan Devero missed four straight free throws, with Berline and Esdrelon still around for the defensive rebounds.
All they had to do was give up fouls that sent Berline and Esdrelon to fire bonus shots.
Berline and Esdrelon forced an over time with three free throws apiece.
Luis Abuel made a steal and went ahead for an easy two-pointer to take the lead again during the extra five-minute thriller.
Esdrelon kept investing in free throws to help the Fixers keep pace.
Kelvin Bernardo connected a three-point play and Noni Saipan managed to hold on to their one-point lead for a couple minutes until Berline basketed a follow-up shot.
With 17 minutes left, Devero slipped through a tight defense for a jump shot. Esdrelon however, got fouled and went-1-for-1 to tie it the game.
Berline gave up his last foul on Basila who made Noni’s winning shot.
Scores:
Noni Saipan 74 – K. Bernardo 18, J. Tamayo 15, L. Abuel 13, I. Devero 12, B. Demapan 10, G. Aquino 3, B. Basila 3.
Diamond Fixers 73 – E. Esdrelon 16, T. Westley 12, J. Barrios 11, M. Capalad 11, B. Berline 10, J. Artates 6, W. Capalad 5.
Quarterscores: 17-19, 36-29, 54-41, 66-66 OT 74-73
