Day: September 14, 2024

Hustle Gang vs The Big Chili

all spice No hustle in final minutes

In what could be the biggest turnaround early in the season, the Hustle Gang lose their composure in the final 2 minutes as well as their 6 point lead as The Big Chili cruise to a 48-44 victory.

The Hustle Gang led in the final 2 minutes 41-36 but turnovers after turnovers spelled their doom in spite of the numbers put up by the wily veteran Aldrin Acuna – 21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. The Hustlers just lose their composure and were giving up unforced turnovers in the dying minutes of the game. Aldrin Acuna was able to hit a tying 3 pointer to make it 44-44 all but the Hustlers failed to shut the Chilis down. Yuhenyo Girl finished with 8 points and 7 rebounds while Jordan Rey finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds. Cris Dapon struggled to find his range in this game as the Chilis were hunting him on every possession. Solid defensive performance by Claro Sumagui with 3 steals and 2 assists while Lego was able to notch 3 rebounds and a steal in this game. Jan Quiocho will be looking for a bounce back game next week as he was kept in check by the Chili defense.

The Big Chili a.k.a The Spice Boys finally notched their first win after two seasons behind the solid performance by #1 overall pick Fred Ganut ( 18 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks) and Bombi Toves with 20 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. Fred Ganut was a mystery to the league and he was a big question mark when team captain John Dahan picked him up as their top pick. Boy oh boy, he introduced himself mightily in this game. GJ Eva finished with 6 points and 3 rebounds while Gerard Nicasio finished with 4 points and 2 rebounds. Oliver Poblete and Roman Blas provided that interior presence for the Chilis. Meanwhile, Arvin Dela Cruz and Commissioner Lego were playing cat and mouse on defense essentially canceling each other out on the stat sheet.

With this win, what is in store for The Big Chili? Will the Hustlers bounce back next week?

vs

Swoosh Bros vs Gym Rats

creatine powered? NOT TODAY says ‘Bros

One half of the Gym Rats Dynamic Tito’s is currently hobbling on a knee injury leaving them handicapped in their loss vs Swoosh Bros 57-44.

The Gym Rats were without their Fearless Rat, Cy Real, who is nursing a knee injury, can only get his support from the bench. Renz Villanueva and Victor Dunga tried to carry the teams high-octane offense to no avail vs the ‘Bros jet fueled style, which is errily similar to last season’s Gym Rats. Ja Aloy finished with 12 points 4 rebounds 1 assists and 3 steals on the game while Exequiel Opial finished with 10 points, 6 rebounds 2 assists and 1 steal. Ron Acosta played for the first time after suffering from a hand injury before Volume 4.0. Mark Yu played solid as well as JC Cuenca contributing 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals.

Meanwhile, the Swoosh Bros are living the dream. Rodfil Camacho had another solid star performance with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 1 steals. Newcomer Jimuel Sta. Maria started the game hot with 13 points, 3 rebounds , 1 assists and 1 steal. Ashten Purclea had 7 points while Neil Bagalso had 5 points in the game. Even Steven finished with a silent two rebounds while Lito Matildo continued his hot streak with 6 points and 2 rebounds.

The biggest question now for the Rats is how will they bounce back as Fearless Rat Cy Real will not be available to play for a while. How will they fill that void?

 

vs

Track Hawks vs Ruff Ryders

big boys come to play bully ball

The Track Hawks came in the game confident vs the Ruff Ryders bullied them and ended up bowing on a 58-48 loss.

The Track Hawks surprised everyone on Week 1 as the young guns and the not so young veterans were running Team Tigas out of town. Kean Oham is showing off his athleticism and dynamic game last week but was limited to 8 points this time around. CJ Luna trying to will the team vs the Ryders but came up empty with 12 points in the game. Meanwhile, Aden Oham and Rodje Villa was playing solid vs the bigger Ryders and finished with 6 points and 8 points respectively. Jun Centeno finished with 9 points while James Griffith had 3 points. What is missing, however, is Ads Acuna’s shooting in this game. He barely got a good look at the basket and was a non-factor throughout. Ryan Luna and Dave Go played solid off the bench.

The IHOP of DUB came cruising in this game behind the unstoppable Juan Gutierrez. It was just a breeze for the birthday boy as he finished with 26 points and 7 rebounds. Ronnie Tallud does not even have to shoot in this game. Mico Mercado finished with 8 points while Frankie Mesa had 7 points, who showed dominance in the paint over the smaller Hawks. Richard Osay had timely 3 pointers and played very good defense on Kean Oham while Conrad Wolfe showed some moves late in the game and had been solid off the boards throughout.

The sky is the limit for the Hawks. Do they have real wings or do they have wings of wax? Icarus flew too close to the sun and his wings of wax melted.

vs

Team Tigas vs Soju Bombers

BOMBERS SHOT DOWN by TEAM TIGAS

This game started as a preview of what the playoffs will be when these two teams face each other. Round 1 goes to Team Tigas with a resounding victory of 52-48.

Both teams started very slow but the Soju Bombers failed to capitalize. Dillon Pineda started the first half hot with 12 points but was shut down in the second half and hobbled with a bad ankle later on. Meanwhile Cyrel Legaspi and Gabe Gaw struggled in this game as they could not find their range and finished with 8 and 4 points, respectively. Jacob Liwanag continued his solid performance with 10 points and Ahwin Adricula provided the spark plug needed by the team in the second half with timely passes and shots. Adam Cabanas had his debut and finished with 3 points and 4 rebounds. Paolo Olea and Joel Recinto was also solid on both ends of the court.

Team Tigas continued to show their firepower even though Aaron Cua (9 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assists) was not shooting much this game. Michael Humphrey had very good box score of 18 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assists, and 1 steal but the biggest takeaway from him was how he led the defense on shutting down Dillon Pineda who put in 12 points in the second half. CJ Pineda also had a solid outing and got the shots needed to pull away. Kurt Malana finished with 5 points and 5 rebounds. Paul Echaore had a solid rebounding game with 9 rebounds while Andrei Malacapay finished with 8 points. Eddie Sera and Angelo Dela Cruz were solid on defense and provided the spark from the bench.

Will the MOAB ever be deployed by the bombers? Can Team Tigas sustain this momentum?

vs