Today’s Games: Battle for 3rd Game 1: Luke vs Mark Championship Series Game 1: Matthew vs John Mark stomps Luke to take Game 1 of Battle for 3rd series GBBC, April 19, 2022. The duo of Ponciano Tan and Axcel Quisimundo played efficient and unrelenting basketball for Mark to take Game 1 over Luke in the battle for 3rd series. Mark did not hold back once the game started. Ponciano Tan quickly went to work scoring 4 consecutive baskets as Mark raced to an unexpected 12-1 lead. Luke was reeling as they could not find a basket. They were forced to take an early timeout to regroup. Luke’s captain and superstar Mario Gayeta checked in off the bench to weather the storm. They were able to stop the drought as they scored a basket immediately after the timeout. However, their defense was not able to compensate for their renewed offense as they could not stop the frenetic pace that Mark was on. Guard Gerald Gabriel started the game for Mark and did not waste time putting points in the basket to keep the double digit lead for his team. Things did not get better for Luke when prolific guard Axcel Quisimundo came off the bench and went to work offensively to end the half. The lead ballooned to 21 as the first half ended with Mark leading 45-24. Mr. Consistent Tan scored 16 for Mark. Quisimundo added 12 markers for the orange team. Gabriel on the other hand contributed 8 early points to set the tone of the game. Gayeta scored 10 points off the bench as he tried to settle down his team offensively. Spitfire guard Duga-duga struggled with 3 fouls, only scoring 4 points in the first half. Guard Gabriel Tanyag added 5 for Luke. After the break, Quisimundo picked up where he left off. After scoring the last 8 points of the first half, he added 6 quick points to continue the avalanche of points for Mark. During that particular run, he displayed his supreme athleticism when he went from the right side of the rim to the left to score a 360 lay-in much to the delight of the crowd. Mark continued to score as they traded baskets with Luke to keep their 20 point lead heading into the final stretch. Luke played for some momentum for the next game, cutting the deficit to 17 at one point threatening a furious run to make things interesting. Gayeta carried the offensive load as he pushed hard to keep the game close. Luke’s Tanyag had his best game of the tournament as he picked up the slack and hit 5 threes in the game. The hot shooting of Luke actually kept them afloat during the 2nd half. Duga-duga joined in the fun and hit 3 three pointers of his own. However, the early onslaught of Mark proved to be tough to overcome as Luke fell short 97-79. Gayeta finished with 34 points for Luke. Tanyag added 19, his personal best. Duga-duga sizzled late to contribute 17 for the red team. Tan top scored Mark with 30 points. Quisimundo had a career high of 28 points for the orange team. Gotonero also had a great offensive outing with 15. Big man Ezekiel Aguinaldo and Gabriel added 10 to round out the 5 players in double digits for Mark. The 97 points that Mark scored tonight is a tournament high, thoroughly eclipsing the 82 points they scored last February 22, 2022 in an overtime win against John. Scores: Half scores: 45-24, 97-79 Mark 97 - 30 Ponciano Tan, 28 Axcel Quisimundo, 15 Marlito Gotonero, 10 Ezekiel Aguinaldo, 10 Gerald Gabriel, 4 Jake Pagatpat Luke 79 - 34 Mario Gayeta, 19 Gabriel Tanyag, 17 Lloyd Duga-duga, 4 PJ Gayeta, 3 Rommel Galara, 2 Ben Gayeta John fends late Matthew rally, one win away from inaugural championship GBBC, April 19, 2022. John played excellent defense all game as they stopped a late Matthew rally coupled with their own key baskets down the stretch to take Game 1 of the PBA Finals. Now they are one win away from winning the inaugural championship of the PBA tournament. The start of the 1st PBA finals turned into a chess match. John and Matthew battled with wits more than the skills on the hard court as the prestigious inaugural title is on the line. Both teams are known for their offensive firepower but in Game 1 we saw a defensive slugfest between teams who made it difficult to score in bunches. John quickly employed a Finals-esque defense. They ravenously forced early turnovers and tough shots from Matthew. Their suffocating defense was also rewarded with easy shots on the other end as Matthew scrambles to set up their defense during the slow start. John created an early separation midway to the first half, leading 15-9. As Matthew was looking for answers, John took advantage as the sweet shooting of guard Apollos Aguinaldo reared its head off the bench. Aguinaldo uncorked two 3 pointers to increase the lead to 12, 21-9 in favor of John. Matthew settled for an exchange of baskets to end the first half down by 11, 13-24. Curiously, elimination round top scorers Aaron Roblo and AC Gonzales (30 PPG and 28.33 PPG respectively) were held to 4 and 3 points respectively after the first half. Roblo, however, visibly struggled on his shots while Gonzales on the other hand deferred to his teammates in scoring. Both top players also committed 3 fouls. Aguinaldo led John in scoring with 9 points powered by his three triples. He was seconded by 5 points each by guard Raph Pacheco and do-it-all-forward Orly Malupa. Picking up the slack for Matthew was The Tank Vic Lardizabal scoring 6 of his team’s 13 points. Guard Lunie Sebial added a basket while forward Jeff Alquizar added a point from the free throw line. The 2nd half started with the same tone. A suffocating defense from John continues the trend of forced turnovers and converting easy shots. At one point the lead ballooned to its highest at 16 points, 35-19. At this point, Matthew looked to regroup and make a run for it in the end game. Suddenly, they changed their strategy and employed their own man to man defense to prevent John’s easy baskets. The change in defense proved to be effective as they slowed down the pace of John’s offense. On the other end, they began to work inside to chip in to the lead. They forced some fouls and went to the free throw line more often. Soon they were able to cut into the lead and kept it in single digits going to the final stretch. Sebial led the charge and penetrated the basket for easy lay-ins and trips to the free throw line. They were also able to foul out Pacheco and Orly Malupa in the process. John mitigated the collapse as they relied heavily on Gonzales to execute key baskets down the stretch. They also got a boost from Ryan Malupa who played excellent defense down low, blocking shots to cut Matthew’s momentum. He played center most of the time filling in for the absence of rotation player Rey Malupa. Lardizabal hit key baskets to give Matthew a chance but he was answered basket per basket by Gonzales. Roblo fouled out soon and spelled the difference. John takes Game 1, 52-47. Lardizabal was steady all throughout and finished 19 for the green team. Sebial scored 12 in the second half to finish with 14 for the game. Roblo struggled all throughout as he finished with a measly 11 points, a far outcry from his usual 30 point explosions. Gonzales got 20 markers to anchor John closer to the championship. Aguinaldo added 12 while Orly Malupa also contributed 9. John looks to hoist the title in Game 2 for the inaugural title of the PBA tournament. Scores: Half scores: 24-13, 52-47 John 52 - 20 AC Gonzales, 12 Apollos Aguinaldo, 9 Orly Malupa, 6 Ryan Malupa, 5 Raph Pacheco, 0 Kevin Sanchez, 0 Jenzhel Sanchez Matthew 47 - 19 Vic Lardizabal, 14 Lunie Sebial, 11 Aaron Roblo, 2 Honorio Gayeta, 1 Jeff Alquizar, 0 Kyle Lardizabal, 0 Jun Adille All Star Festivities
We take a quick break as the All Star festivities begin. The 1st PBA All Star would feature the following events: 3 Point Shootout All Star Game The All Star game would feature the 4 best players from each team. And we got a good one as Matthew teams up with Mark to play the forged team of Luke and John. The All Star events would kick off on April 26, 2022 at GBBC. Game 1 results Mark looks to finish the series in Game 2 to take the bronze place. Luke will look to bounce back and force a game 3. Matthew looks to extend the championship series while John looks to cement their place in basketball history. Extend or End? Game 2 of both series will be played on May 3, 2022. Games start at 7 PM every Tuesday at GBBC. /written by: Kevin Sanchez /photos by: Chloe Aguinaldo /published by: Em Gacad
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