Poblacion Takes Hard-Earned Win Over The Saints

Poblacion's Dapito taking it strong to the hoop.

Ibaan Summer League Championship
Game 1

The intimidation and "break-the-box" game strategy of Brgy.Poblacion brought them the laurel of the first salvo of best-of-three championship game series against Brgy. San Agustin, 52 - 49, May 13.

Poblacion almost buried The Saints in the first quarter of the game at 14 - 2 score. The Saints then rallied for six straight points to come closer at the end of the quarter. Poblacion's Dapito closed the quarter with two points from free throw.

At the start of the 2nd quarter, San Agustin tried playing an open game pushing the ball hard to the rim. But the towering players of Poblacion doesn't seem to be worried with their height advantage. Fortus even made a lucky shot when his alley-hoop-pass intended to Rivera was bit deflected in the process. The ball landed on the rim instead of Rivera's hand in the process, 14 -10.

The Saints' renegade swing-man Fortus on the hunt for a perfect shot.

The Saints responded with a heavy-traffic-defense inside the paint forcing Poblacion to take outside shots. Perimeter shots hardly sinks in. But a 3-point shot by Cahilig and Liwag's twin charity shots pushed the Greens farther at 20 - 12.
Not to be outdone, the Saints' Paguinto, Rivera and Fortus combined 6-points to close the gap at 20 - 18 with 4:04 minutes remaining in the second quarter, then finally leveling the score 20 - 20 courtesy of horse-working Rivera's offensive-rebound-follow-up-shot, 3:33 minutes.

Poblacion however still managed to end the second quarter on top with one-point lead, 24 - 23.

Battle royale for ball possession.

Third quarter revealed the Greens' dirty brand of game. Poblacion's "demolition men" inside the box have been breaking the Saints' defensive and offensive rebounding positions by either pushing them off-balance or by dragging them down for every rebound scramble. Big-Daddy-Cool Carson, together with Cantor, committed their 4th personal foul in the closing minutes of the quarter. Blanco was also relegated his 4th personal foul for the same game-style in the quarter. On the other hand, Calaycay was even caught intentionally stepping on the Saints' soul and main man Fortus as he drives for a lay-up. These and more put the Saints at disadvantage. But still managed to take the lead in the end of the quarter, 36 - 37.

Green man Perez pushing it hard against a Saint.

With 3:15 minutes remaining, 3rd quarter, Poblacion is still at the driver's seat at 31 - 29 courtesy of  MVP candidate Dapito, with the help of his team's shooting guards. The score went on a tie at 33 out of the Saint's Eleosida's driving layup.

For couple of times, opposing teams found themselves on a seesaw of ball possessions, wrestling it up on the floor and bending like farmers in an open field. With 47 seconds remaining, Fortus stole the ball for a possession but took too many steps for a travelling violation. San Agustin kept the lead at 34 seconds. The Greens' Perez made two points for 34 - 35. Few seconds more, Blanco committed his 4th personal foul, giving the Saints' Rivera two free throws. However, Rivera made only one shot.

The Hand-over.

Calaycay then added two more points for Poblacion to take the power back at 36 - 35. Fortus was then sent to charity line off Calacay's foul. He made both shots, sending the Saints an inch closer to heave with a one point lead at the end of the 3rd quarter, 36 - 37.

Paguinto opened San Agustin's offense in the fourth quarter with a 3-point shot. But Poblacion's Perez was quick to respond with his two points. The Saints then turned the ball over which Liwag took advantage by driving hard to hoop, getting past the disoriented Saints out of their turnover. He made the shot, plus a foul. Liwag made his bonus shot to push his team one point ahead, 41 - 40, 6:17 minutes remaining.

Saint Eleosida up, up and away!

Paguinto the split his charity to tie the game at 41, followed by Guerra's two points for the lead, 41 - 43, 5:00 minutes remaining. Poblacion again tied the game at 43 by 3:40. At 3:15 minutes, Fortus' hard drive gave the Saints another reason to celebrate for a two-point lead. But it was cut-short with Carson's two points inside the shaded area. Again equaling the score at 45.

At 2:26 minutes, Poblacion, for the nth time, took the lead at 47 - 45. Fortus, as expected, did as hard as he can to tie the game at 47, 2:00 minutes remaining. Poblacion's Perez on the other hand went on a rampage for a jump shot for Poblacion to be at front with two points, 49 - 47, 1:45 on the clock.

Green Warriors out-nembering the Saints on a rebound.

Again, Fortus drove hard inside, but was fouled in the process by Calaycay for his fifth foul. The Saint's soul could have sent the game to an over time with 38 seconds remaining. But the heaven was not listening. Fortus missed both free throws. Poblacion's Blanco grabbed the rebound, and was sent to charity line. He split his shots. The first one sank, then missed the second shot, taking the Greens 3 points ahead, 47 - 50 with 18 seconds remaining. And at that instance, it appeared like fate is in favor of the Green warriors over the yellow Saints.

Cahilig secured the rebound off Blanco's miss and was sent to the line off San Agustin's penalty situation. He missed the initial attempt, then sank the second try. On a fast break, the Saints' Maranan made a quick two points to come an inch closer at 49 - 51, 7 seconds remaining. Poblacion called for a time out to map plans for their final ball possession.

Fortus slashing his way and defying Poblacion's defense.

Returning to the court, running-for-MVP Dapito received the inbound for a foul. He was able to add one more point for the Green Warriors, 52 - 49. Although Dapito's production was limited throughout the game, his offensive and defensive rebounds inside the paint proved to be too lethal for the Saints to up against with. He was a monster inside the paint. The Saint's Rivera on the other hand tried hard to do the same to give his team some breathing space. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough.

Fortus then made a desperation shot with 4 seconds remaining at the half court. He missed. Enough for the Green Warriors to take the lead of the series, 1 - 0.

Green Warrior's main man Dapito under heavy guard
that limited his production.

Note:

At the dying seconds, the Saints showed its weakness. Their lack bench depth resulted to limited player rotations, exhausting the team's first unit. To top it all, they ran like wolves on the court, trying to make a quick basket. But instead, to count, in fact, in the last one minute, they committed six (6) big turn over violations. They could have won the game had they converted those possessions into points.

Poblacion on the other hand showed how disciplined they are as they execute calculated game schemes.