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Shocktroopers power Excelroof to PBL crown
by Jonas Terrado (March 30, 2010)
Excelroof was again faced with a dangerous
situation in Game 2. It fell behind by 10 points to
Pharex B-Complex in the third quarter and a pivotal
third game was looming.
But the 25ers marched to another comeback
trail. Unlike in the series opener, it was their reserves
who stepped up to the plate in sealing the roof company's
journey towards winning the title on their maiden campaign.
"Yun nga, siguro para maiba naman
ng strategy," said coach Ato Agustin. "Kasi
sigurado gameplan nila is ma-stop nila yung mga main
guys namin."
The rally was not made by eventual Finals
Most Valuable Player Calvin Abueva, Jimbo Aquino or
Pamboy Raymundo, but a cast of role players composed
of Gilbert Bulawan, Anthony del Rio, Argel Mendoza and
Adrian Celada.
Slowly these cagers, who were surprisingly
inserted by Agustin in-between the third and fourth
quarters, pulled Excelroof closer before eventually
taking the lead for good.
Mendoza, who played limited minutes during
the elimination round, made up for a quick turnover
by providing stellar defense to Pharex's point guard
Arvie Braganza before hitting a booming trey that pulled
the 25ers within two points, 75-73.
After a big 24-point, 17-rebound performance
in Game 1, Bulawan showed physical defense and grabbing
key rebounds against the likes of a bloodied Best Player
of the Conference winner Vic Manuel, Ford Arao and for
a moment Magi Sison to set up big offensive sets.
Despite getting the start but wasn't used
for majority of the contest, Del Rio, most of the time,
started the transition plays after every miss or steal.
And finally, Celada kept defending the
likes of Woody Co and Marlon Adolfo before knocking
home his only triple of the contest. With that, it was
suddenly Excelroof 83, Pharex B-Complex 81 with less
than four minutes to go.
What these guys finished was what the
trio of Abueva, Aquino and Raymundo finished.
Abueva made 16 of his 22 points in the
second half while grabbing 12 rebounds with his trademark
hustle plays and orthodox movement against the Pharex
frontline while Aquino, who earlier made clutch basket
after another, helped pushed his team's lead to six
points, 91-85, with less than two minutes to play.
And Raymundo, who eventually finished
with a game-high 24 points, botched numerous Pharex's
comebacks hitting four consecutive free-throws in the
final 11 seconds to seal the championship - amidst the
power outage that occurred on the playing court while
posing for celebratory photos taken by various lensmen.
Asked by the late entry of his top gunners,
Agustin credited his shooktroopers for getting the job
done.
"Siguro gameplan nila (Pharex) is
to stop Jimbo (Aquino) and Pamboy (Raymundo), hindi
nila siguro inexpect na si (Adrian) Celada magcliclick
sa depensa, even si (Anthony) del Rio. Talagang may
kumpiyansa ako sa kanila," said Agustin.
Come to think of it, Excelroof showed
how deep its lineup was. Although the players lacked
experience in the PBL, they are used to logging minutes
for their respective schools in the collegiate ranks.
For example, Bulawan and del Rio are key
components in San Sebastian's NCAA title conquest last
October.
Aside from making strides in Arellano's
NCAA debut last year, Celada is used to being a big-time
scorer in the NCRAA, helping the Chiefs win back-to-back
title victories in 2007 and 2008. In fact, he was named
as league MVP in the latter part of that title run.
And Mendoza rose to a big-time scorer
in the NCAA for Emilio Aguinaldo College, averaging
over 20 points per game. He was also a reserve guard
for the Generals in a number of championship wins in
the UCAA and NCRAA, playing second fiddle to the likes
of top Generals Ronjay Buenafe and Gester Ebuen.
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