Recap

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.