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Mavs survives shocker defeats division III the Unbeatablez 116-114 at the buzzer!
Q Arena, Philippines -- The Dahlia Mavericks scored two impressive wins in the Philippine Premier League that they went listless in the 1st quarter of the National Tournament game getting outscored 36-19 by the Unbeatablez.

They were able to outscore their opponent 31-27 trailing by 13 at the half, 50-63. "We were just hoping to cut the deficit by at least 10 but it seems like were destined to lose this game" the Mavs coach said.

Little by little, they chipped points and they were able to outscore them again 29-25 in the third to cut the deficit by 9 entering the fourth with 79-88.

The Unbeatablez got weary as the game progress but the Mavs opted to rest their starters that was able to negate the opponent's weariness and the Mavs lack of talent.

Xavier Manese couldn't keep up with Robert Hoornstra that he fouled out with 7 points in 22 minutes. But from then, Bernie Dimagan took over as he scored 23 points in 14 minutes that led the comeback.

It was a risk on the Mavs part for resting their starters and letting Fillmore Sabangan take a leave that exhausted Dimagan and almost cost them the game.

"After two impressive victories, we thought we could conquer them by using our backup while noting that their starters are that tired," GM Nicolo Maro said. "it comes down to one possession - just one. We took the risk and almost paid for it."

It would have been almost a shame if they indeed lose but they got to work in the fourth to finally took the lead 101-99 with six minutes left. They were leading comfortably with 111-103 with a minute left before the Unbeatablez made a comeback.

It was a wild finish as Usamah Vidal missed four free throws in the final minute before Karlo Torp hits a layup with 19 seconds left to tie the game at 112.

In the ensuing possession, Santos Verano made a great pass in the wing to Carlos Robles who calmly hit the jumper with 9 seconds left.

The Unbeatablez made a 30-second timeout. They dribbled the ball before Karlo Torp found Andruta Zainea who dunks the ball to tie the game 114-all.

The Dahlia Mavericks did not call a timeout and with one second left, made a perfect pitch from the half court that ended to Santos Verano's hands who attempted a fade-away, guarded closely by Hades Cabezudo, that swish through the net as time expires -- game over -- Mavs win 116-114 at the buzzer!

The announced 18,131 in attendance went ballistic as David almost took a Goliath only to regain their senses and win in such a thriller game. Almost the entire arena went into frenzy as some ran over the court and the Mavs players mobbed Verano.

During the post-game interview, Verano said that he is 'very lucky' to hit the shot and gave credit to their opponents who gave their all. He finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 blocks hitting 48% of his shots (10-21 FG) while hitting the game-winner and playing all 48 minutes.

Calvin Robles was also instrumental as he scored 29 points along with 14 rebounds while Vidal added 22 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds. It was refreshing to see Melanio Gabo play the game of his life as he notched a double-double with 14 points, 5assists and a monstrous 23 rebounds while hitting 3-3 from beyond the arc.

"Individual talent is very much evident in our team," GM Nicolo Maro said. "but, they are sacrificing their individual stats for the betterment of the team." with the very supportive owner Yo Chi smiling and nodding in the background.

Hades Cabezudo led the Unbeatablez with 25 points, 19 rebounds and 3 blocks but was Verano's defender in his game-winner. "It hurts man.. in front of my face.. but you got to give them credit, heart of the champs, we'll only learn from this experience."

PRO Tambays pounds Nescafe Classics, 151-119 (53054117)


THE FACTS: Alberto Sta. Maria got a perfect 10/10 FG, grabbed 8 rebounds and established season highs with 26 points and 14 assists as the PRO Tambays bounced back from a heartbreaking loss with a 151-119 win over the newly promoted Nescafe Classics at the Tindahan ni Aling Nena Arena Saturday night. Vicente Michon and Lian Deping each contributed 20 points each while 5 other Tambays got a double digit in scoring. Fong Kong Chian (19 points), Gerald Tomina (15 points), Enrique Villaciergo (14 points), Ernest Pacquing (11 points) and the forever struggling Nikos Ntavelis (10 points) for the Tambays who improved 3-4.

This is the 4th time that the two teams battled with each other with Tambays winning 3 out of 4 in their meetings.

QUOTABLE: "He's done a great job in scoring as well as finding his teammates, I'm glad he learned to play as a Point and also he is more wise in his shot selections.
------ Patrick Juanico on Alberto Sta. Maria

THE STAT: 8. 8 of the Tambays scored double digit points for the team. The other two players got 8 points each.

TURNING POINT: The Tambays took command at the 1st half with their 38 point lead. Sta. Maria was exceptional, who has many chances of scoring but he always dish it at his teammates for a better shot selection.

QUOTABLE II: "It's the first time we used a very fast paced offense and I love it. I love the fast offense system, I can use my passing skills efficiently."
------ PRO Tambays Point Guard, Alberto Sta. Maria

HOT: Alberto Sta. Maria was perfect at the field with 10/10 despite playing only 26 minutes. Vincent Michon also contributed an efficient night with 10/13 FG.

NOT: Ntavelis can't get back his MVP rhythm, he shot only 5/19, added 10 points.

NOTABLE: This is the 6th straight game that the Tambays executed a weaker effort than their opponents. Coach should use their enthusiasm efficiently to improve their 3-4 standing.

NEXT: An inter-conference battle vs 5th seed Maroon next Tuesday.

Dahlia Mavericks lose on GMs birthday
Q Arena, Philippines -- The Dahlia Mavericks wants to get this one -- badly wants to win this one. They fell short as they were shut down in the third only scoring 10 that they were trailing by 22 entering the fourth ultimately losing to Memongs 90-77.

They knew the stakes, it was a national televised game, away, and their GMs birthday that they made an effort to up their ante but Memongs had other plans in mind.

"We know that they'll be ready to come inside our building but there's no way we would lose at home," Oliver Velasco who scored 24 points to lead all scorer said. "sorry but we played the part of spoilers."

Memongs virtually won all categories outrebounding the Mavs 55-48, out-dishing them 16-10, in swiping the ball 9-3, and in taking care of it (7 turnovers compared to Mavs 17).

"We are thrilled to play our first national televised game and winning it." Albert Dancs said as he recorded a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Bernie Dimagan led the Mavs with 21 points and 11 rebounds but it wasn't enough as the rest of the team were flat in their performance. "We were eager to win this one for our GM but I guess we were anxious to win that's why we lost."

Teodosio Amante had a forgettable performance scoring 6 points in 1-10 shooting in 42 minutes. "Give me a break, I know I'm on a slump right now" Amante said.

"In all honesty, we know we would lose this game," Mavs coach Doc said. "but I told them to give it their all to give our GM a W."

Asked for his comment and how he celebrated his day, the soft-spoken GM said "a year older. celebrated with my family and watched the game. We could've done better but I'm happy with their performance. It was a national televised game away from home and they tried to put up a fight."

We wish you all the best GM Nicolo Maro! It has been a nice 5-year ride as the Dahlia Mavericks continues to be a perennial contender in the league!

Up next against the Mavs: Team Polydozel looking for their first win, will they get it against the Mavs?

Week in Review

Results: 3-0
Tuesday: W vs dilata 95-82
Thursday: W vs sanluis 122-38
Saturday: W vs Team Polydozel 83-47

In the Tuesday game, Pierre-Charles Jutras led the team with 32 points and 11 rebs for his 2nd straight 30-pt game as the Lonely Hearts Club (SGT) beat dilata 95-82. He got plenty of help this time as SGT moved the ball and crashed the glass en route to the win.

The Thursday Tournament game saw the reserves destroy sanluis 122-38. After the 1st quarter, the reserves shot with their non-dominant hand for the rest of the game to make it interesting but nothing changed. Their next opponent is a div IV team so expect another blowout.

The Saturday game against their rival proved to be a wash as they shut down Team Polydozel 83-47. SGT proved its versatility as they had 7 players in double-digits even though it is a very low scoring game. This may have been caused by the injury to Antonio Principe in the first half as Polydozel struggled to score against the stifling defense. After the first round of conference matchups, SGT leads the conference and the league in fewest points allowed.

Player of the Week: This one is easy as Pierre-Charles "Juts" Jutras captures the honors. He averaged 21.0 ppg and 13.0 rpg in 2 games. Said teammate / assistant coach Serge Malacad, "He is a player with great amounts of pot." Asked by the media to clarify, he said, "As I've said, he is a player with great amounts of... potential to dominate. We hope we can ride him high this season."

Don't call me Shortie

Jed Robison has been called Shortie all his basketball life but it certainly wasn't the case in Zebu Mayas 104 to 92 win over Juguars. Measuring at 5'11" in height he was standing tall against everyone as he helped shut down Juguars starting SF Luther Grubbs to a miserable 6 of 24 shooting night while scoring himself 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Zebu Mayas outrebounded Juguars 60 to 44 and had more assists 23 to 11 and also held Juguars to 35 percent shooting (31 of 88) night.

"Jed Robison is one of the reasons why we have been winning lately." gushed Lolo Smithz. "Since we acquired him we have won 3 out of 4 games. In fact the only loss we had with him in our team he had his highest scoring night at 21 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. He was very disappointed that night and vowed to shutdown the opposing player the next game."

"His nickname in the team is "Fearless". Fearless because he likes driving to the hoop with no fear and also likes to dunk at taller guys which is a concern for us also since it rubs opposing players the wrong way. He just gives our team so much intangibles that you don't see in the stat sheet. Very valuable member of our team indeed and worth very centavo we spent to acquire him."

In other league 2.4 news. The hottest team in the Big 8 conference is Mommy Dionisias Secret Recipe which has won their fifth straight game after starting the season 0-3. Arcanix Men still leads the Big 8 conference with a 7-1 record and is most likely headed to a finals meeting with Team Damy the only 8-0 undefeated team left in league 2.4. Team Damy crushed the always dangerous Fleiaz 120 to 70 in their last game.

Christmas Special: Dahlia Mavericks defeats Team Polydozel 97-80, winless in 2012

PAL Arena, Philippines -- The Dahlia Mavericks were wary that Team Polydozel will take flight on this special day as they seek their first victory of 2012 especially with their lackluster play against Memong the last time-out.

"We were anxious that we will be the first team to lose against Poly," GM Nicolo Maro said. "No offense but you don't want to be the team they earn their first victory." looking dead-serious as he made the statement.

The Mavs were firing on all cylinders as they opened the first quarter leading 24-13. Team Polydozel threatened their lead as they started the 2nd and 3rd quarter strong only to be halted by the Mavs on both occasion as they never look back to maintain their lead. The buzzer ended and the Mavs winning 97-80.

It was a total team effort as six players scored in double figures led by Ananias Capuyan with 23 points. He was perfect 10 at the line extending his streak to 31 attempts without a miss at the charity stripe.

"I don't know if this is a record but 31-31 at the free-throw line to start the season must be a record -- you must give him credit" GM Nicolo Maro said.

The Mavs were at the line 32 times (making 26) compared to Poly's 13 attempts (making 9) and outrebounding them 61-46. "As is usually the case, the one who controls the rebound controls the game." Mavs coach Doc said.

Three players had a double-double with Apolonio Sepulveda grabbing 23 boards along with 10 points. Teodosio Amante 'bounced back' after three dismal performance with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Gerry Sanchez contributed 12 points and 10 boards. Fillmore Sabangan 'just missed' the mark with 14 points and 9 caroms.

"We have been preaching it all along, rebounding is very important to us and we make it an effort to outhustle, outrebound our opponents" Doc said.

Marisuz Rusak and Antonio Maselli led Team Polydozel with 25 points each while Mateja Catic notched a double-double with 10 points and 18 rebounds but it wasn't enough as they succumbed in another lopsided loss against their opponent.

"I don't know what to do," Polydozel coach said. "I guess we need a voodoo here or something!"

The Mavs will wrap-up the week with the national tournament game against Division IV Alam Na boasting an 8-0 record in their league led by big man Mo Rungui while Team Polydozel is looking forward to their next game as they will still be seeking their first victory of the year in a TV matchup at Memongs.

It was the first inter-conference matchup of the year and the Dahlia Mavericks were the only team to win against the other conference as the All Stars, Brawlers, Admirals, Bombers, Wrath, Memongs, and Dragons fall against their counterparts!

PRO Tambays surge past Maroons 89-76

THE FACTS: Alberto Sta. Maria is once again a hero, scoring 20 of his 22 points in the 1st half as the Tambays easily beaten the Maroons with both teams have good competitors at Philippine Cup this week.

Hudson Reay is the Black Hole on boards snatching and incredible 30 rebounds only allowing the Maroons to grab 5 offensive rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "Tough game offensively, i know the opponent didn't let some of their starters to play but the score is still close in a match up like that. There is always a night like this when you're open but you can't sink those shots."
---------- PRO Tambays coach Patrick Juanico

THE STAT: 15 and 22. 15 is the rebounding differential of the two teams. The Tambays dominated the boards. 22 is the drawn foul of the Tambays and also their FT made.

TURNING POINT: The 3rd quarter run made by the Tambays where they trailed the Maroons as much as 17 points.

HOT: Edward Jaculina had his career night 33 points for the Maroons controlling their offense with 15/29 shot but still can't find help from his teammates.

NOT: Once again, Nikos Ntavelis for the Tambays who was given chance to play 36 minutes but still can't convert with 4/13 and finished with just 13 points and giving poor defense against Jaculina.

QUOTABLE II: "We gave him chance to showcase his skills but still can't convert. The management is still patient and would like to see his full scoring potential and experience."
----------- PH cezzz on Ntavelis

UP NEXT: The Tambays will face Fleiaz who is also in 4th place.

Last edited by PH-cezzz at 12/26/2012 8:47:26 PM

Week in Review(Dec 23-Dec 29)

Transactions:

Acquisitions: Driss Ajlani (15120082)

Departing Players: none

This week, the Lonely Hearts Club (SGT) acquired 28-year-old swingman Driss Ajlani. He is expected to provide energy and depth in the SG and SF positions. He was acquired hours before the Thursday Tournament game and made his season debut in that game notching a near triple-double of 15 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists.

Results: 3-0

Tuesday: W vs memongs 102-90

In the first inter-conference game, SGT held off a furious comeback from memongs and eked out a tough win 102-90. The opponent unleashed their scoring prowess from outside but was met with a potent 3-2 zone coverage, the first time the team used it this season. Pierre-Charles Jutras chipped in his usual double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Francis Nuñez chipped in 22 points while Fabien Ville posted season-highs in points and rebounds with 17 and 14 respectively. jan Belesic from memongs was injured in the 2nd quarter while Mustafa Ekin was injured for SGT in the 4th quarter. Their injuries weren't that serious and both were able to play in their team's next game.

Thursday: W vs TheFighters 114-37

The Thursday Tournament game saw the reserves manhandle TheFighters 114- 37. After a surprisingly tight 1st quarter, they finally found their expected groove and cruised to the finish. U21 NT guard Niel Mabunay was injured in the 3rd quarter and left the game but the injury didn't cause him to miss time. Their next opponent is a Div III team and they said a blowout much less a victory can't be guaranteed so we'll see.

Saturday: W at Pampanga Dragons 95-84

In the team's final game for 2012, William Misa filled in starter Fabien Ville and notched 26 points and 10 rebounds for SGT as they got their first road win of the season with a close victory against Pampanga Dragons 95-84. Foul trouble and a gametime-only injury limited Fabien Ville to 9 minutes but proved to be a blessing in disguise as the local player Misa emerged with season-highs in minutes and points while tying his season-high in rebounds. "Juts" Jutras continued his double-digit scoring streak with 24 points and 9 rebounds. The team is riding a 4-game league winning streak and hopes it will not stop soon with a year change in the calendar.

Dahlia Mavericks snapped WPS Sentinels 5-game league winning streak, wins 77-65

Q Arena, Philippines -- After starting the season 0-4, the Dahlia Mavericks is starting to 'heat-up' as they're 4-1 in their last 5 games only losing in a TV game away from home against Memongs.

"Our confidence in our team has never waned despite the early setbacks," GM Nicolo Maro said. "we have a great coach and our team is built to endure."

It was an 'ugly' game between the Mavs and Sentinels as they ended the first half with the Mavs leading 33-27. However, the Mavs 'ran-away' in the third scoring 25-13 and never looked back as they notched their fourth win in five games defeating the Sentinels 77-65.

Teodosio Amante led the Mavs with 22 points and 8 rebounds while Bernie Dimagan and Fillmore Sabangan chipped in with 16 and 15 points.

Scott Famaran had an iffy debut along with the starters going 1-7 from the field scoring 4 points but grabbing 18 boards. Apolonio Sepulveda had 8 points and 12 boards.

WPS Sentinels had a 5-game league winning streak entering this game but it wasn't enough as only their big men provided the 'goods' as Alvin Votorillo had 15 points and 11 rebounds while Argen Mand had 11 points and 16 boards.

The race in both the Big 8 and Great 8 Conference is a tight one as only 3 games separate the current 1st and 8th seed team in the former while 4 games in the latter.

Defense! Defense! Defense!

Tugar n Tweety's hotshot shooter Teodosio Bonifacio scored 16 first half points in a game wherein most analysts expected Zebu Mayas to lose big. Tugar n Tweety lead by 2 points by the end of the first half but Zebu Mayas fans were treated to a spectacular defensive effort at the start of the 3rd quarter with Zebu Mayas scoring a 13-0 run. Frustration could be seen setting in by Tugar n Tweety's players as they committed two fragrant fouls from being unable to score. Crowd favorite 5'11'' guard Jed Robison unfazed by Teodosio Bonifacio's stardom scored three rim rattling in your face dunks that further demoralized the opposing teams players. Tugar n Tweety's players could only score 8 3rd quarter points against 25 for Zebu Mayas giving the latter a 15 point lead at the end of the 3rd.

Teodosio Bonifacio, slighted by those three embarrassing in your face dunks and the getting shutdown in the 3rd took matters into his own hand and went into an "in the zone" scoring spree scoring 23 4th quarter points reducing the lead as close as 3 points but Zebu Mayas was able to hold off the scoring onslaught to carve out a 82 to 70 win.

"My hats off to Teodosio Bonifacio. No wonder he is the top scorer of League 2.4." said Lolo Smithz after the game. "You just can't stop a scorer if he is in the zone. That was a very amazing 4th quarter scoring performance by him even if he was shackled in the 3rd he still found a way to score in the 4th."

"Our original plan though also was to let Bonifacio do all the scoring as we thought we would defend the other four positions with better defenders and just let him score at will and tire him out fast. Jed Robison surpassed expectation with that fine defensive performance against Bonifacio in the third that helped us win the game with a considerable lead at the end of the 3rd. Also out free throw shooting was a blessing in disguise as our players made 26 out of 32 free throws which is pretty high for our teams standards."

In other league 2.4 news Team Damy is still undefeated after 9 games but suffered a major setback as top center Salvador Dulay suffered an injury and is expected to miss at least 4 games. This will surely test Team Damy's ability to stay unbeaten as the cup games gets harder in the succeeding rounds. Mommy Dionisias Secret Recipe still is on hot team as they scored its 6th straight win and is now in second place behind Arcanix Men who continues to hold on to the top spot in league 2.4 big 8 conference with a 8-1 record.


Last edited by Lolo Smithz at 12/30/2012 12:25:16 PM

Play Your Hearts Out and it will Set You Free

"Heart... Our team played their hearts out...." said Lolo Smithz as he tried to contain his emotions after winning a game Zebu Mayas was suppose to lose against the Relentless Vikings in their home court . Paul Pasana, Zebu Mayas starting PF crashed out of the game in the first minute of play due to an injury and it was sophomores Manny Paranpan, a 19 yo 6'7' 5k salaried SF and Luke Martinez, a 20 yo 5k salaried 6'10' SF who were given the task to handle Gilberto Favaro, a 29 yo 53k salaried 7'0" veteran.

Employing a Low Post play. Relentless Vikings pounded the inside with Gilberto Favaro scoring 16 points and pulling down 18 rebounds but Manny Paranpan didn't do too shabby against a very superior player scoring 14 points including a 6 point outburst in the 3rd quarter that helped the Zebu Mayas team a lot. Tied 75 all in the 4th with less than 2 minutes to go, Zebu Mayas veterans Ariel Domingo and Wilson Toong broke the game open in favor of their team with 2 straight 3 pointers. Relentless Vikings tied the game again at 81 all but that was it as they couldn't score again with a final score of 88 to 81 in favor of Zebu Mayas.

"Veteran experience counts." Lolo Smithz said. "Those two 3 point shots demoralized the opposing team. You could hear a pin drop from the stunned silence of the Relentless Vikings home crowd after the 2nd 3 pointer. PG Ariel Domingo was also very instrumental in the win as he refused to sit down and played all 48 minutes despite having 4 fouls in the 1st quarter alone almost having a triple double performance with 19 points, 9 assists 7 rebounds 4 steals and one block. SG Prince John Nalzaro also has an almost triple double like performance with 21 points 8 assists 6 rebounds two steals and 2 blocks and also did a superb job of shutting down Relentless Vikings SF Ximen Shuopeng (2-15 shooting night)."

Team Damy continues his PPL quest as he still remained undefeated in league 2.4 with 10 wins and zero losses. When interviewed PH Damy had this to say " Is there any team out there in this league who can defeat my team? It's becoming boring game after game really." Arcanix Men is 9-1 in the other conference.

Last edited by Lolo Smithz at 1/2/2013 2:48:39 AM