The Good

Week 2 was blast for Team Pogi as they managed to squeak past the mighty Balut All Stars winning the game by one point 51-50. It was a game that the Balut All Stars had everything going for them except the last 2 or 3 minutes of the last canto.

Balut All Stars came out firing from all cylinders as they played only with 5 players: Jingson, Cyrel, Loven, Nervin, and Richard – hitting 3 pointers after 3 pointers keeping the Gwapings confused and at bay. Jingson was also able to get 3 block shots against CJ Pineda.

The Gwapings, however, were able to gather themselves together and executed a defensive second half of the game when CJ Pineda and Michael Humphrey caught fire like a “Santelmo” and ran over the Balut All Stars like the Tazmanian Devil and Sonic.

Senior Citizens also had a blast on Week 2 with Juan getting the support he needed on their win against the Barakos.

Kuya Cats validated their contender status after their decisive win over The Underdogs. Matea Mandabon was having a heat check moment hitting 3 3pointers while also competing against Kyle Aguirre who had a monster 20 point game himself.

The Bad

After all the trash talking leading up to the game, the Kambings came out victorious over the Astig Boys. Papa Ronnie was kidding his heir apparent, Aldrich, the whole week leading up to the game and trade barbs and friendly insults along the way.

Ronnie did some Ronnie stuff but it was Jeff Duria who stole the show along with Bombi Toves who made life difficult for the young shooter – Aldrich.

What was bad about it was that Aldrich was held scoreless for the game for the first time.

But, “Perlas na Bilog” says, this wiley gunslinger will make up for this in the coming weeks.

The Underdogs also fall into this category this week with their somewhat non-existent running attack playing without their star Rodfil Camacho. They were able to hang on with the Kuya Cats only that it was too much for them to contain.

Despite their younger team, The Barakos were not able to compete with the Senior Citizens.

Chinese Buffett always wins over Fitness Centers. That’s a fact.

The Ugly

Depending on who you ask, the referees were either atrocious or pretty good. That was not the case for Kuya Cats and their captain CJ Luna who got a tech from the referees after he complained of an obvious turnover for their opponents – The Underdogs. What irked CJ was that the referees never explained their calls and shush him out.

The same goes for Balut All Stars who cried foul and a rigged game when they were called foul after foul in the dying seconds of their game with Team Pogi.

And the last but not the least, Trash. Leave the venue as how it was before we started the game. Clean.

Our league participants and audiences need to be mindful of the trash they leave behind after the game like bottled water, snack plastics, boxes, etc. We leave the court late almost closing time and if we don’t clean up, it will make the committee and the Harry Stone personnel stay longer to pick up the mess.

“Don’t mess with Texas” and let us try to be grateful for the luxury we have in using Harry Stone.

Dallas, TX – It was a day of blow outs as all 3 games for today ended in lopsided victories in Week 2 of The Dallas United Ballers League Volume 1.

Headspin started the festivities by running the Thundercats out of the building, 66-45, to grab solo leadership in the league standings. High-school phenom Rodje Villa of Headspin, opened the game with a 3-point shot and didn’t miss much, after that, on his way to a season-high 32 points. He also plucked 8 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and blocked 1 shot to complete his wizardry over the Cats.

Headspin blitzed the Thundercats in the 1st half, with a commanding 42-19 lead going to the intermission led by the masterful game of Rodje, and with key contributions from Cupid Musa and Kyle Aguirre, who scored 8 and 9, respectively.

Renz Villanueva came alive in the seond half scoring all 14 of his points, to try to rally his Thundercats, but Rodjecontinued his hot streak by scoring 20 of his team’s 24 points in that final half to keep the Thundercats at bay.

In the second game, the Eraserheads started the game on a suffocating 14-0 run, and never looked back en route to a 55-37 wire-to-wire win over the reeling Dragonball Z. The Bruiser Brothers, Rommel Calaguas and Mike Beltran, bullied their way into the paint, while the speedy back court of Neil Bagalso and Kenz Jacob added to the Eheads balanced attack, to send the Dragons to the bottom of the team standings.

The Dragons were able to cut the deficit to seven, 28-21, on a triple by Richmund Echaore but were unable to get any closer as the Eheads pulled away with Rommel crashing the boards and piling in the points to the tune of a 16-10 double double.

Double-double machine, Tristan Moreno left the game for good at the half for personal reasons, but still topscored for DragonBallz with 10 points to go with his 4 boards. Pointcenter Gabe Gaw was the other bright spot for the win-less Dragons filling the stat sheet with 8 points, 6 caroms, and 5 dimes.

In the final game of the day, SemiPro leaned on their Mighty Big Three to annihilate Voltes V, 71-45, to get their first win of the season. CJ Pineda had a breakout game, scoring 18 of his season-high 28 points in the second half, while Rodfil Camacho added 17 and Jeff Duria poured in 14 to go with his 6 assists.

Sweet-shooting guard Aldrich Acuna couldn’t get going, and fellow three-point specialist, Aaron Cua, couldn’t buy a shot as well, as Voltes V found themselves fall behind by 14 at the half. The lead ballooned to 30 points in the final canto, before SemiPro stepped off the gas pedal.

Dallas, TX – The Dallas United Ballers League opened up it’s very first season starting with the Battle of the two most highly-touted teams, with Team Headspin prevailing over the Mighty Semi-Pro, 49-42.

The game was a see-saw battle until Headspin pulled away in the closing minutes with a couple of key defensive stops, translating into easy fast break points. Headspio was spearheaded by up and coming speedsters Rodje Villa, who finished with 15 points, and Kyle Aguirre with 7 points. Their Twin Towers, Joseph Briman and Carl Aggamaran powered their inside game on both ends.

SemiPro was led by Jeff Duria, with 20 markers, while Rodfil Camacho and Jingson Morales added 13 and 5, respectively. In the second game, the Thundercats started their season on a winning note, whipping Dragon Ballz, 50-40. Father-and-son tandem, Gil and Matea took turns burning the hoops from rainbow country to keep the speedy and powerful Dragons at bay, as they carried the scoring duties for the Cats, with 10 and 13 points. Tower of Power, Dennis Dagondon, Rainer De Joya, and firecracker Renz Villanueva provided the much needed muscle against the younger Dragonball Z, helping the Cats play a balanced inside-outside game.

Young gun, Tristan Moreno paced the Dragons with an 18-point and 10-rebound double-double, running the floor like a gazelle, and crashing the boards on both ends of the floor. Point-center Gabe Gaw, gained steam late in the game finishing with 10 points and 6 rebounds, but it was too late as the Cats had built a sizeable lead late in the game at that point.

In the last game, Voltes V, played like a well-oiled machine, as they pummeled the Eraserheads, 61-46. The Eraserheads battled Voltes V tooth-and-nail in the first half, that ended in a 29-all tie, but the family connection of the triple AA’s of Voltes V proved too much for the Eraserheads to handle.

Star high-school player, Aldrich Acuna burned the hoops with 20 points, while his dad Aldrin “The Ironman” Acuna, and brother Ads Acuna added 14, and 7. Sniper Aaron Cua hit three triples and finished with 18 points and 5 assists, and Lean Mean Rebounding Machine, Popoy. “the Sailorman” Vargas had 10 rebounds and 5 assists, and an all-around high efficiency game scrambling for loose balls and finding teammates for easy buckets.

The E-heads had a balanced attack with floor general, Neil Bagalso, leading the way with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Bruiser Brothers, Rommel “the Punisher” Calaguas, and Mike “the Badboy.” Beltran, muscled their way into the paint for the E-heads to the tune of a combined 11 points and 13 rebounds. Mark Anorico played a steady game scoring 9 points.

The game was blessed by the presence of Jesse “Bhot” Roque, who coached Voltes V to the win. Bhot will be out for this season as he heals.

The opening ceremonies and games were also graced by the presence of Commissioner Le Go, who has worked very hard in the offseason to make this League a success.