By Jay Leon Guerrero

It wasn’t an easy road, but the FBLG Hawks stamped their ticket to the Harmon Loop Dental Boys Middle School Basketball Tournament championship game set for Saturday against the undefeated BMS Roadrunners A team. The Hawks clawed their way to the championship after winning a double header Thursday night, which included a double overtime win.

“We had to work really hard to win the game(s) tonight,” said Hawk guard Isaiah Malig. Malig led the Hawks in the evenings opener with a win over the BMS Roadrunners B-Team scoring 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter to secure the 41-22 victory.

With the earlier win, the Hawks advanced to play the Jose Rios Voyagers, a team that handed them their only loss of the year. Both teams played great defense as the game ended in a 26-25 victory in favor of the Hawks. Jahmar White did all the scoring in the overtime periods for the Hawks making 2 baskets and going 3-for-4 from the line for seven points. White’s free throws put his team up by four points in the final seconds in double overtime to clinch their spot in the championship game.

Astumbos Kobe Santos dribbles down the sideline past FBLG Jahmar White. (photo by Joey Blas)

Illac Lalac led the Hawks with 12 points, Darien Taimanglo also scored 12 points for the Voyagers.
Tommy Auputiw, who hit two 3-pointers in overtime for the Voyagers, scored 8 points.

In the first game of the evening, the Hawks surged to a 14-1 lead to start the game. Rench Pingol and Lalac utilized their height advantage and scored in the paint to help build the early double digit lead.

The Roadrunners B-Team came back and shocked the Hawks going on a 10-1 run in the third quarter to cut their deficit to just eight points after three quarters.

Kobe Santos swished a three pointer and Kevin Cabral converted a reverse lay-in during the third quarter run for the Roadrunners to steal momentum away from the Hawks.

Matua Borja kept momentum in the Roadrunners’ favor to open up the fourth quarter scoring scoring an “and-1” lay-in to cut the lead to 23-17, their lowest deficit since the first quarter.

An FBLG player battles for the rebound under the rim, goes up and banks the shot in for two points. (photo by Joey Blas)

The Hawks called a quick timeout to stop the momentum and that’s when Malig went to work.

Malig scored 11 points in the final five minutes of regulation to secure the victory for the Hawks. “Coach told us to handle the ball better and to limit the turnovers because we were turning the ball over earlier,” said Malig.

Malig played aggressively in the fourth quarter making three field goals and scoring the rest o his points from the free throw line.
Borja led the Roadrunners-B team with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Pingol had 8 points and grabbed 6 rebounds for the Hawks.

Stats:

Roadrunners B:
Matua Borja – 12 PTS, 6 REB, 3 STL
Kevin Cabral – 5 PTS, 6 REB
Kobe Santos – 5 PTS, 2 STL 0

Hawks:
Isaiah Malig – 14 PTS, 5-5 FGM
Illac Lalic – 8 PTS, 6 REB
Rench Pingol – 8 PTS, 6 REB

Team stats:
Rebounds – BMS 18, FBLG 29
Field goals – BMS 7-19 (37%), FBLG 13-27 (48%)
Turnovers – BMS 9, FBLG 8
Steals – BMS 6, FBLG 5

PHOTO GALLERY:

An FBLG player pulls up in the lane and makes the jumper for two points. (photo by Joey Blas)

An FBLG player battles for the rebound under the rim, goes up and banks the shot in for two points. (photo by Joey Blas)