‘Catch Me if YOu CAN’ – Barakos LEFT POGI IN THE DUST

The Barakos left Team Pogi in the dust as they cruise to a 59-42 victory over the outmatched Team Pogi in The DUB League Volume 3.0 matchup last Saturday.

After losing Eugene in the offseason, there were a ton of questions surrounding the Barakos, who were runner-ups in the last season. However, Even Steven San Nicolas was able to reload and stole Mico Mercado from Astig Boys. Team Pogi also showcased an incomplete lineup with big man Joseph Brimon was out. The team, however, was able to get Michael Humphrey in the offseason.

The Barakos led the game from start to finish by as much as 21 points with the stellar play of Mico Mercado who finished with 20 points and the 3 point mastery of Neil Bagalso and Yoneo Gamalinda. Big Man Bryan Lim was able to control and clog the painted area as the Pogis were having a hard time scoring from up close.

Team Pogi was playing catchup the entire game and never got the lead. Michael Humphrey was exceptional in his debut (15 points and 2 rebounds), as he tried to rally the Gwapings. Workhorse CJ Pineda, 16 points,  was also on the run and had a verbal fencing with the referee after not getting the calls. Conrad Wolfe who came back after one season of hiatus had a solid defensive game. Team Pogi came back and got as close as 7 points as they enter the final canto. But, the Barakos’ firepower is just too much for the team.

 

barakos lose eugene; pogi blown up

The Pogi team got blown up by a MOAB during the offseason shuffle in an attempt to balance out the leagues young and quick guards. The new team isn’t even close to the original as it is now being anchored by Dallas basketball standout in Michael Humphrey along with workhorse CJ Pineda and big man Joseph Brimon.

It was almost an uneventful season for The Barakos as they were gearing up for another trip to the finals only to get the news that Eugene Piong will not be suiting up this season due to health reasons. However, Capt. Steve was able to round up enough players that were eerily similar to Yoneo’s open team in another league in Frisco getting Mico Mercado from Astig Boys in exchange for Noel Bagalso and adding Yuhenyo Giron who came back after a hiatus.

The Barakos will be young and quick while Pogi team remains to be seen as to how they will fare against this run-and-gun team. Completing the roster are newcomer Bryan Lim, Yoneo Gamalinda, John Dahan, Paul Echaore, Melchor Dupale, and Dave Go.

On the other hand, GJ Eva, Cupid Musa, Mark Lim will be the supporting backcourt along with Gerard Areja while Conrad Wolfe, Nilo Concepcion, and Lego will be the veteran presence for the team.

Will the Barakos run over the Pogi players? Or will the veterans show up and slow down this steam-engine of a team?

The game will start at 1115AM on September 16, 2023 in Harry Stone Recreation Center in Dallas, TX.

 

Big Mo Saves The Day; BALUT ALL STARS RAN OUT OF GAS

KuyaCats started as the heavily favored team coming into the game with a starting five coming off from winning The DUB League Volume 2.0 championship and a very strong bench that is the envy of the entire league – Frankie Mesa, Dillon Pineda, and Cy Real who could have been building blocks for any team in the league. CJ Luna did a marvelous job trading in the offseason.

This came as a surprise when the Balut All Stars, who lose their spiritual leader in Raymund Escarlan, came up giving them a hell of a ballgame as the ‘Cats win 52-47. Powered by high energy plays from Eric Pranivong and Patrick Corpuz, the Balut runners were able to get the game close until the final seconds of the game when Mohammed Karim made the game-saving block for the ‘Cats. The ‘Cats showed an all around game with all players scoring for the team. There was much speculation that the ‘Cats may slow down after Juan Gutierrez went to Senior Citizens in the offseason. Fortunately, it seemed like they don’t miss Juan that much with the addition of Frankie Mesa who is a towering presence in the paint.

Cy Real lead the ‘Cats with 9points and 3 rebounds while Mohammed Karim had 7 points, 8 carums, and 1 block. New addition Dillon Pineda scored a solid 7 points while Gil and Matea Mandabon both garnered 6 points. CJ Luna, Renz Villanueva and Devan Mesa also had a very solid game.

In the meantime, the Balut All Stars were led by Eric Pranivong with 20 points, and 5 rebounds followed by a solid debut from Patrick Corpuz who garnered 12 points and notched 7 rebounds. Guards Cyrel Legaspi and CK Arcilla also contributed a solid game with 8 and 2 points respectively while Loven Villanueva, Nervin Metrillo and Jingson Morales provided the much needed veteran presence by holding the fort for the Baluts.

‘cats GOING FOR REPEAT; Gamecocks turns to BALUT

The KuyaCats and FamBam (which became Senior Citizens) were part of the offseason shuffle. Juan Gutierrez felt that he needed more challenge as KuyaCats won the championship in The DUB League Volume 2.0. The ‘Cats were able to land Frankie Mesa and his family while losing Juan Gutierrez, Arvin Dela Cruz and Ahwin Adricula.

Meanwhile, The Gamecocks turned into Balut this season as Raymund, the ultimate godfather of fighting cocks, opted not to play this season due to vacation plans. The team will still have high energy sharp shooting and defensive minded Eric Pranivong in the team. He will be joined by Patrick Corpuz as the core of the team, who replaced Andrei Malacapay – who also initially did not want to play due to conflicts.

The Balut All Stars backcourt will be showcasing a young tandem of Cyrel Legaspi, Richard Osay and CK Arcilla while the paint will be manned by newly crowned NABA badminton champion, Chester Timbol. He will be supported by energizer bunny Jingson Morales, Tiger Start, Loven Villanueva, and Nervin Metrillo in the paint.

On the other hand, the KuyaCats still maintain their core minus Juan Gutierrez with Gil Mandabon, Matea Mandabon, Mohammed Karim, CJ Luna, and Renz Villanueva. They were also able to pickup young studs in Cy Real and last seasons surprise player in Dillon Pineda in a blockbuster trade that sent Aaron Cua and CK Arcilla to Senior Citizens.

Though looking outgunned on paper, don’t count the Balut All Stars. Just like the actual balut, you may not see it when you were eating but it definitely surprised your tastebuds.

Can the ‘Cats have a repeat of their championship without their MVP Juan Gutierrez?

The game will start at 1115am on September 16, 2023 at Harry Stone Recreation Center.

Senior Citizens Showing GRIT; Kambing on fire

Most people in audience think that this game will be a blowout due to the intense firepower of the Kambing Inc team led by the “GOAT” bros Jeffrey Duria and Ronnie Tallud. The game was surprisingly very competitive with Juan Gutierrez doing most of the heavy lifting and almost single handedly defeated the Kambings. Kambing Inc eventually won 56-52 over the Seniors.

The game started with the Seniors down with the Kambings running at every situation. It became close eventually with Juan slowly finding his stride by trusting his wingmen the Splash Uncles Aaron Cua, Bhon Filomeno and Orlando Glory to make the big shots outside. It was an epic battle with Juan being almost triple teamed  in the paint by either Andrei Malacapay, James Bandolon, Neil Cristobal and one of the Kambing’s wingmen the entire game.

Jeffrey Duria had to slow down the game in the second half by trying to dribble to clock away as Juan and his minions were on their heels. Aaron Cua also fell multiple times due to slippery flooring as well as the fast pace of the game.

The Kambings were led by Jeff Duria’s 20 points with his BFF, Ronnie Tallud, finished with 17 points. Bombi Toves also had a decent showing in his first game with DUB finishing with 8 points. James and Neil had their hands full. Andrei finished with 4 points.

Juan Gutierrez had a monster game with 23 points followed by Aaron Cua’s 10 points. Orlando Glory who was still trying to get his range at Harry Stone finished with 5 points. Bhon and Brian had 6 points each while Lito Doncic had a quiet two points.

 

The “GoAT” BROS – Senior Citizens FACE/oFF

Ronnie Tallud has a funny way of expressing bromance to his buddy Jeffrey Duria, otherwise known as “The Goat” in many circles within the Dallas basketball community. This is the first time that the two stars are pairing in The DUB League. Ronnie originally came from Pogi but an offseason shuffle found his way teaming up with his bro.

Meanwhile, Juan Gutierrez also got lost in the offseason shuffle, changing spots with Frankie and his family at the Kuya Cats team. Juan expressed his desire to have a more challenging season after winning the championship with the KuyaCats in The DUB League Volume 2.0.  It was a bumpy ride for Juan as he traded away his big man Al Bae for Dillon Pineda in the offseason who he flipped into the perennial sharp shooter, Aaron Cua. The Senior Citizens was also able to add the original splash brother of Dallas, Orlando Glory, and sent the young guard CK Arcilla to Balut All Stars.

Kambing Inc lose Carl Agcamaran in the offseason because of scheduling conflicts. Carl averaged 16 points a game and 6 rebounds last season and a very big hole to fill. The team were able to fill in the gap with the mysterious newcomer Andrei Malacapay, who was originally from the Balut All Stars before his school commitments became an issue. The mystery continues as to what happen to those commitments and he was able to suit up for the Kambings.

Bombi Toves came fresh from his USFBA Tournament stint representing Dallas Metroplex in Chicago, IL for the 20U team. He averaged in double figures and was a permanent fixture in both ends of the court for the Dallas Team. Linebacker James Bandolon and Neil Cristobal will man the paint for the Kambings while Paolo Olea, Michael Apaga, and Von Pagdanganan will share backcourt duties.

Veterans Arvin Dela Cruz, Lito Matildo, Ahwin Adricula, Angelo Dela Cruz and the Filomenos (Bhon, Brian, and Raffy) will provide the much needed support from the bench.

Will both Ronnie and Jeffrey be able to recapture those magic moments together again? Or will Juan Gutierrez and his team the grumpy old men denying them those moments?

The game starts at 1015AM on September 16, 2023 at Harry Stone Recreation Center.

 

 

Astig OUTGUNNED, OUTMANNED, and DEMOLISHED

It was a totally unexpected surprise from the Astig Boys in The DUB League Volume 3.0 Opening game. The team only had four players that came out and play resulting in a 94-57 massacre from the high powered The Underdogs team.

Astigs were missing their stars Aldrich and Aldrin Acuna and Chris B who had a prior engagements scheduled

Rommel Calaguas, Ads Acuna, Mitchell Salas, and Cris Dapon tried their best to contain the fastbreak attack of The Underdogs using multiple tactics from running the over, slowing the game down, and locking them down. This, however, did not work so well as Rodfil had his way the whole game combined with the running attack from newcomer Al Bae.

Ads Acuna finished the game with a career high of 28 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, and one block. Cris Dapon added 21 points and Rommel Calaguas added 4 points and 7 rebounds. Mitchel Salas had his career high 8 points in this encounter.

The Underdogs relied on Rodfil Camacho, Al Bae, and Jun Centeno who had 16 points, 16 points, and 12 points, respectively. Rodfil also finished with 10 rebounds.

Additionally, The Underdogs’ guards were shooting from all cylinders with newcomer Aldwin scoring 10 points, JR Sunga scoring 8 points, veteran Philip Autencio scoring 8 points and Rodje Villa with 9 points.

Veterans Aris Aguirre has 4 points, Oliver Poblete has 5 points, and Dennis Villa finished with 6 points and 5 rebounds.

 

Astig Reloaded; The Underdogs Revamped

The Astig Boys reloaded this offseason with the addition of The DUB League Volume 2.0’s Defensive Player, Rommel Calaguas, Cris Dapon and Noel Bagalso in their lineup while parting ways with one-half of the Splash Brothers, Aaron Cua. It was not an ideal breakup. The Acuna father and sons tandem will be trying to get back into becoming a perennial contender after they fell short in The DUB League Volume 1.0 vs SemiPro.

Meanwhile, The Underdogs started the offseason with their lineup generally intact. This, however, did not last long as the team traded their star point guard Dillon Pineda to Senior Citizens for the 6-footer Al Bae. Dillon Pineda was in turn flipped by Senior Citizens into Aaron Cua in the succeeding trades. Rodfil Camacho will shoulder much of the load with the loss of Dillon Pineda with his wingmen, Rodje Villa, Kyle Aguirre, and Al Bae.

The Astig Boys also traded their prized high energy big man in Mico Mercado for Noel Bagalso. Completing the team are Tito and Phoenix Galing, Jesse Roque, Mitchell Salas, and the mysterious Chris B.

On the other hand, The Underdogs added newcomers Adwin Brotonel, Al Bae, and JR Sunga. The veterans Aris Aguirre, Jun Centeno, Dennis Villa, and Philip Autencio will provide adequate support off the bench.

The game starts at 915AM on September 16, 2023 at Harry Stone Recreation Center in Dallas, TX.