Blades turn to freethrows to fend off furious comeback; beats Bugo HeadCrackers
League III.13 Elimination Round
Bugo HeadCrackers @ Bacoor Blades
13:11
In yet another thrilling encounter against a familiar rival, the Bacoor Blades thwart a late-game comeback to upend Big 8 top-seeds Bugo HeadCrackers, 105-103, at The Bacoor Forum.
In what could serve as a preview of a possible Big 8 Conference Semifinal tie-up between the two squads, the Blades and the HeadCrackers provided nothing short of a stellar game, with exchanges scintillating the crowd as they watched the two foes outscore one another.
The opening quarter provided the blueprint of how the rest of the game would end up being, with the home squad leading by only a single point, 24-23, thanks to the incursions underneath by Antoine Fauvel and Boris Buzhan. The second quarter proved to be more of the same, with the Blades barely edging out Bugo to snag a five-point halftime lead, 50-45.
The third saw the Blades try to blow the game wide open, with double-digit leads in multiple occasions, but just as they looked to enjoy a 12-point spread entering the fourth quarter, a near-halfcourt heave by Bugo's reserve forward Demeterio Solo brought the lead down to nine, 84-75, opening the curtains for a furious comeback.
The first few minutes of the fourth quarter were ungrateful to the Cavite-based squad, allowing the Big 8 leaders to battle back in the game. Opening the period with a Homero Moreno three-point play off a Kelly Paul foul, the HeadCrackers went on a 12-2 run capped off by a Mickael Tarrade three pointer to wrest the lead from Bacoor, 87-86. This would begin a slew of breath-taking plays by both teams as they clawed their way to a 95-93 score entering the last two minutes, with the Blades at the helm.
Just a few ticks after the warning was sounded, Buzhan knocked in a jumper to give the Blades a 97-93 lead, this was immediately followed by a Diego Gorrieri lay-in to make it 97-95. Buzhan and Eugenio Genco connected on an alley-oop play plus a Buzhan charity split again established a four point edge, 100-95. The HeadCrackers would play the foul game from there. After a Bugo timeout, Gorrieri finds Vicente Diaz for a 100-97 tally. Fauvel was fouled and would split his freebies to make it 101-97. The HeadCrackers once again called for a ceasefire with just over 20 ticks remaining.
The play off of the timeout was read by the Blades that forced Bugo to shoot an impossible heave from downtown. As he was fouled off the rebound, Boris Buzhan knocked down both freebies to make it 103-97. Bugo with another timeout, but this time, Tarrade nails the triple off a second chance opportunity to make it 103-100 with six seconds remaining. Buzhan was again fouled and again made two free throws to peg them at 105-100. This proved to be crucial as on the final play of the game, Gorrieri nail a triple to notch the final scoreline.
"That was a whilrwind of a game. We knew they'd come back and the came back hard on us." said team manager TheDogMan. "We were winded entering the final moments but those free throws down the stretch was key in preserving this victory." he further added.
"I just wanted to take charge at the end and make the right plays down the stretch." said Buzhan. "That was a lot of pressure, especially since we were at home and wanted to give the Blades community a crucial win." he added.
The win puts them at 9-7 for the season, solidifying their #4 seeding in the Big 8 bracket so far. They face JibangEr on the 19th of November on the road.