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Checkmate: Queen's Coast Silv3r strangled Cresta Verde Mountaineers 96-85

ThE YarD, Philippines -- It was a highly anticipated matchup as one has got to give-in with the Cresta Verde Mountaineers riding a three-game winning streak while Queen's Coast Silv3r have five. These two had come a long way as both have 3 wins against each other and one will edge the other with win number four.

In the first half, it was virtually a deadlock as both exchanged baskets with Queen Coast leading by the slightest margin, 45-44. They came up roaring to start the third leading 72-66 to start the 4th.

The Mountaineers were still in striking distance with less than two minutes left but ultimately succumbed to a 96-85 defeat as they failed to convert their shots while Queen Coast made their free throws.

"Do we have to evaluate what we're doing? Obviously they're a top team. Maybe they have home court but we put more in the game." GM Nicolo Maro said.

John Opina got the better of his matchup with Benigno Basa as he scored 20 points with 14 rebounds and 6 blocks to lead his team to victory. "Stats won't lie but what's more important is we got the victory." Opina said.

On the other hand, Rhyan Tersol led the Mountaineers with 19 points and 17 rebounds while Besa had 17 points and 14 rebounds.

"We wanted to get this one but they're better, that's it." Besa said.

Defense was the key as the Mountaineers put up more shots compared to Queen's Coast but failed to convert them. The battle of the bigs was the highlight as both tried to steer their team to victory with the Silv3r earning their sixth straight and the Mountaineers were left to wonder what they're doing.

Player of the game: John Opina - 20 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks.
X-factor: Graciano Recamara - 19 points and 7 rebounds.
Best player on the losing team: Benigno Besa - 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Notes:
Although Teodosio Amante filled the stat sheet with his usual all-around performance having 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, he shot poorly going 6 for 26.

Weekly recap: Braves bomb Mountaineers, Mountaineers lay FC
Vulcan Arena, Quezon City.


Dynamite Braves bombs Cresta Verde Mountaineers 108-60
Cresta Verde Mountaineers only put up a fight in the first quarter as the Dynamite Braves bombed them 108-60.

Santos Verano tried his best to carry the load for the Mountaineers with 28 points and 19 rebounds in 13-25 field goal shooting but the collective talent of the Braves led by Miha Brajdic's 20 points did the trick.

"We played but they didn't" Brajdic said.

GM Nicolo Maro did not comment for this game.

Cresta Verde Mountaineers eliminated LAYA FC in National Tournament
The Mountaineers were obviously focused in the National Tournament as they defeat Division II LAYA FC 86-69.

The anticipated matchup of Benigno Besa and Ramsey Mercado did not disappoint as both led their respective teams scoring 20 points and 15 rebounds and 26 points and 10 rebounds, respectively.

Rhyan Tersol complimented Besa with 19 points and 17 rebounds while Rosauro Dela Cruz made a splash in his comeback with 12 points and 12 assists.

"It was good to see DC with his mojo back" GM Nicolo said.

The Mountaineers crashed the boards with 53 compared to FCs 31.

The Mavs will continue their inter-conference battle this week with Big 8 second seed Naga City Madunong and 5th seed Gwapsak. They are set to battle division III.2 Tornado in the National Tournament.


P.S. Should we call this Cresta Verde Mountaineers sports network? It seems like no one is interested to post but their team.

Last edited by LA-Nicolo Maro at 10/25/2013 7:55:02 AM

Naga City Madunong nips Creste Verde Mountaineers in a nailbiter
Naga City, Colisuem -- With a seven-man rotation, Naga City Madunong proudly defeats the Cresta Verde Mountaineers 97-94.

In the first minutes of the first quarter, Madunong started on a 7-0 run that dictated the pace of the game scoring 21-13 to end the first. Same story in the second as they unleashed an 8-0 run but the Mountaineers were able to catchup to end the half trailing 35-46.

In the third quarter, the Mountaineers were able to cut down the lead to six but still, Madunong edged them leading 74-60.

The Mountaineers got their senses in the fourth and cut the lead by one with Rosauro de la Cruz's 3 pointer with 50 seconds left 91-92. In the ensuing possession, Kinyas Acemi setup Artur Czarnocki for a driving layup to give them a 94-91 lead with 35 seconds left.

Sophomore Steve Valle tried a three with 22 seconds but missed. Acemi converted the free throws as teh Mountaineers called timeout trailing 96-91.

Fillmore Sabangan converted a three with 8 seconds left and they immediately fouled Janpeter Meyer, he hit one of two free throws with the score at 97-94. The Mavs called for their final timeout.

With six seconds left, pressured, the Mountaineers failed to shoot one last shot as the Meyer stole the ball -- game over.

The troika of Czarnocki, Meyer and Acemi scored 27, 25 and 23 points respectively. "What a game!" was the common sentiment of the three.

Sabangan led the Mountaineers with 23 points while Benigno Besa had a double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds.

"It was a hell of a game, we are looking forward to meet them again in the future," GM Nicolo Maro said.

One stat that standout is the disparity in free throws. Although Madunong attempted 18, they only made 7; while they were only called for 7 freebies with the Mountaineers converting all of them.

Player of the game: Janpeter Meyer, 25 points, 6 rebounds and 5 asissts.
X-factor: Kinyas Acemi, 23 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists.
Best player on the losing team: Benigno Besa, 14 points, 17 rebounds, & 3 assists.

We don't stop: Mountaineers pounds Gwapsak, 86-42.

Vulcan Arena, Quezon City -- "The Cresta Verde Mountaineers don't stop playing," GM Nicolo Maro said. "we don't sell games, we'll never be." That's what he said after the Mountaineers pounded Gwapsak 86-42 in their inter-conference matchup.

Cut from a different cloth, old-school GM Nicolo Maro appreciates the rind and grind between players, among managers. "We're in the era of competition. I can think of JS and Queen's Coast team as two outstanding competitors - old guards to say - and would like to think of our team as well" he said.

He noticed that there are too many teams doing 'give and take' but he cannot blame them. "It's about what you want more, prioritizing, focusing on the more important games," he said "but nowadays, young-guns led team wants it all."

In the first quarter, Mountaineers raced to a 20-7 lead. In the second and third quarter, they held Gwapsak to a 10-point output each. They won handily 86-42 as Gwapsak rest their starters for their coming National Tournament against Vintage.

Rhyan Tersol led the Mountaineers with 15 points and 14 rebounds while Benigno Besa had 13 and 12. Mohamad Ahmad led Gwapsak with 12 points and 9 boards.

"We have the National Tournament to prioritize and division games to take care of, this week, we want to accomplish both" Tersol said.

Now on the sixth round, the Mountaineers looks to advance against division III TornaDo`s while Gwapsak focus their energy against ranked 21 division III.2 Vintage.

Player of the game: B. Besa - 13 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists & 3 blocks.
X-factor: R. Tersol - 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Cresta Verde Mountaineers landslide dumps TornadO`s 123-87

TornadO`s Dome, Philippines -- With a soldout crowd of 6,655, the fans showed their support for home team TornadO`s against Cresta Verde Mountaineers. It wouldn't take long to realize the difference as the visitors took them by storm scoring the first 11 points before Tornado was able to put up their first basket four minutes into the game.

With tired legs, Tornado played catchup the entire night even as they gunned in the fourth quarter scoring 36 points. The Mountaineers still matched them scoring 37 points en route to a 123-87 victory to advance in the National Tournament.

"I thought we could sweep this week but Madunong won by 3," GM Nicolo Maro said. "can't wait for next week!"

Teodosio Amante, coming off the bench, led the Mountaineers with 32 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists and no turnovers in 27 minutes. "We just went out and played" Amante said downplaying his overall performance.

Starter Ananias Capuyan was perfect from the field going 8 for 8 and 1 of 1 in the arc scoring 19 points along with 6 rebounds. "Now you can call me Mr. Perfect eh?" Capuyan jokingly said.

Notables include Fillmore Sabangan's 12 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists while Claudio Regala chipped in 21 points. To everyone's surprise, not in shape Wenresti Gravoso had the highest +/- with 29 - five more than Fillmore's - as he contributed 8 rebounds and 5 blocks albeit 0 points. It's all about the hussle and defense according to him.

Davide Palazzi, Lee Brew and Vladimir Safonov led TornadO`s with 23, 20 and 18 points respectively.

Although they attempted almost identical field goals and three point shots, the Mountaineers converted 14 more shots. They had 18 more rebounds and 13 more assists compared to TornadO`s.

The Mountaineers are curious to know if they'll have an allstar and is looking forward to their matchup against USA Basketball. The allstar break will not be as pleasant as their looking at a possible two formidable matchup in the National Tournament.

Player of the game: T. Amante - 32 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 0 turnovers.
X-factor: A. Capuyan - 19 points and 6 rebounds in 8-8 field goal shooting.
Best player on the losing team: D. Palazzi - 23 points, 3 assists and 4 steals.

Notes:
The Mountaineers are happy with Claudio Regala's performance. Rumor has it that if they don't do well this season, they might give the keys to Regala and Steve Valle. However, they are still torn as their team obviously can compete but also might be hampering the development of the future? superstars.

Cresta Verde Mountaineers Filipino-style basketball defeats USA BASKETBALL 104-84

USA Arena, Philippines -- With the allstar break looming and both teams are looking to advance in the National Tournament, there is no rest between the two. USA BASKETBALL put a tough act as they open the first quarter leading 28-23.

However, they were stomped in the second quarter as the Mountaineers charged 29-10 to end the half leading 14, 52-38. The Mountaineers continued in the third as they scored 27 compared to USAs 20 leading 21 by then 79-58.

The starters did not play in the fourth led by Benigno Besa's 23 points and 27 rebounds. Frontmate Rhyan Tersol had 12 points and 21 rebounds to compliment him.

From then, Fillmore Sabangan came off the bench scoring 24 points to lead the Mountaineers to a 104-84 victory over USA BASKETBALL.

"Great win! Our team is clicking and their chemistry is working!" GM Nicolo Maro exclaimed.

Uzi Alfasi fired 25 points for USA while Itzik Schum and David Brown chipped in 24 and 23 points respectively. Despite their bad shape, it is very much evident that these guys are 'gunners' as they scored 72 of their 84 points!

The Mountaineers dominated the boards with Besa and Tersol having 20+ rebounds each with 71 compared to USAs 38; same with assists as they passed the ball more with 15 compared to 5 while protecting the rim with 7 blocks compared to none.

The Mountaineers[35] will face Rim Crashers[179] in the National Tournament while USA Basketball[45] will go against EL DE BANYO[182].

Player of the game: B. Besa - 23 points and 27 rebounds.
X-factor: R. Tersol - 12 points and 21 rebounds.
Best player on the losing team: I. Schum - 24 points and 9 rebounds.

Notes:
Benigno Besa gave his all and thought it was enough to secure an allstar spot. However, the Mountaineers felt slighted as he was last in the voting having 13,321 when the results came in after the game.

Despite averaging 19 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block in 39 minutes on 51% shooting, he played 3 fewer league games that may have been a factor in his selection.

Besa was unavailable for comment but he vowed to 'destroy' the league in the coming games. Such strong words from him but with no representative, the Mountaineers will just play each game as if its their last.

Cresta Verde Mountaineers weekly recap: eliminated by Marine Admirals in NT.
Vulcan Arena, Quezon City.


Rim Crashers at Cresta Verde Mountaineers, 87-150.
The Mountaineers started the week right by trashing division III Rim Crashers as they ultimately trashed their National Tournament opponent 150-87 towards a 63-point lead.

Both teams were even in the first quarter as they scored 23-apiece before the Mountaineers scored a whooping 48* points compared to Crashers 18 in the second quarter.

The Mountaineers dominated in every aspect led by Teodosio Amante with 46 points, 14 assists and 7 rebounds with no turnovers. Santos Verano anchored the defense with 26 points, 18 rebounds and 6 blocks. Tomas Lacave led the Crashers with 35 points.

Mountaineers eliminated by Admirals 107-102 in National Tournament thriller!
It was the closest game in the 16-game matchup of the National Tournament. Two teams with history, one has got to give. The Marine Admirals ended Cresta Verde Mountaineers bid as they nip them 107-102.

It was a hotly contested matchup until the Admirals pulled away in the second quarter scoring 9 points more that ultimately proves to be the difference quarter of the game. The Mountaineers outrebounded the Admirals 52-39 but they turned the ball over 13 compared to their 5.

Fillmore Sabangan led the Mountaineers with 36 points while Teodosio Amante gave his team an encore with 26 points. Benigno Besa had a double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds but they were outperformed by the stellar performance of Zhuang Guangkai carrying Admirals by himself scoring 53 points.

"He was unconscious" GM Nicolo Maro said.

Cresta Verde Mountaineers destroys M R G AngelZ 146-40.
With the lingering effect of the defeat, the Mountaineers turned their focus against AngelZ and destroyed them 146-40. They jumped out of the gym early scoring 41 points (against 10) in the first quarter and 38-12 in the second quarter.

They were even better to start the second half limiting them to 4 points in the third and continued their torrid pace in the fourth with 36 points as they cruised to a 146-40 victory.

Jimeno Tamban led the Mountaineers with 27 points and 16 rebounds in 11-11 field goal shooting. Regis Basque led AngelZ with 17 points, the only Angelz to score in double figures.

With the National Tournament behind them, the Mountaineers will turn their attention in their league games with the ultimate goal of making the playoffs!

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.

"Last Chance... Again"

Zebu Mayas are on a 7 game winning streak after a very slow start this season and now is sitting on the 4th spot in the Big 8 conference of League 2.4. But bad news hit the team after as starting SG Prince Nalzaro is out for two weeks after getting injured during the last game. A double whammy was given when the COO of Zebu Mayas informed team owner Lolo Smithz that by next week the team will be in bankrupt territory.

Lolo Smithz had to make a very hard decision to put in the transfer list two bigmen in order to save the team from bankruptcy. "This is our last and final chance to get to the finals again for another push for promotion to PPL or we go into the process of another few seasons of rebuilding. We pride ourselves for having a team with players that even the 2nd 5 are good enough to start but now it seems we are in the brink of bankruptcy because of high salary cost. Hopefully we can weather this hump in the road even without lesser players."

"Team Jopau Comebacks looks like the team to beat this season. We need every player we can muster again a very dangerous lineup he has. One last push hopefully this will really be the season we finally break the curse of forever 2.4."

Cresta Verde Mountaineers recap: 2 wins, 1 loss

Cresta Verde Mountaineers at Edeno Uno, 87-101.
The Garden of Eden, Philippines -- Edeno Uno went off to a hot start as they scored 35 of their 101 points in the first quarter to open an 18-point lead and never looked back as they defeated the Cresta Verde Mountaineers, 101-87.

They led by as much as 28 points leading 62-34 at the end of the 1st half.

"Well, I think it is just expected as we, coming off the elimination games in National Tournament, are tired," GM Nicolo Maro said. "the game against MRG was no-brainer."

Nicola Sciarabba led Uno with 29 points andd 15 rebounds while Rizalino Ismael had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. As a team, they shot 48% from the field and had +10 in rebounding with 51 boards.

Surprisingly, Rhyan Tersol led the Mountaineers with 23 points and 11 rebounds and Benigno Besa notched a double-double with 14 points and 12 boards.

Cresta Verde Mountaineers at CleMeNZas Spaghetti Sauce, 105-100.
Im a Capo, Philippines -- The Cresta Verde Mountaineers survived a nailbiter as they defeated CleMeNZas Spaghetti Sauce, 105-100.

Getting outrebounded in their previous game, they made sure to dominate this one as they have +22 in the rebounding category.

Fillmore Sabangan led the Mountaineers with 38 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists while Benigno Besa had a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Ananias Capuyan almost had a triple-double with 14 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds.

Sauce actually started the opening quarter strong with 37 points, leading 13 to end the first. Slowly but surely, Mountaineers chipped in 27 points apiece in the succeeding quarters to upend Sauce in a hotly contested outing.

Not to be outdone, Marion Sedigo led the Sauce with 34 points in a 'duel' against Fillmore. "Just great game" GM Nicolo Maro said.

Balawis Elite at Cresta Verde Mountaineers, 59-114.
Vulcan Arena, Q.C. -- "Seek and destroy" GM Nicolo Maro said. The Mountaineers were unrelenting as they 'destroyed' Balawis Elite in a 55 points drubbing.

Basically the Elite were overwhelmed joining Division II that they resigned themselves this season.

After notching 38 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists in his previous game; Fillmore Sabangan led the Mountaineers with 37 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists - one shy of a triple-double.

"Amazing performance," GM Nicolo Maro said. "I hope he always performs like this."

Coming off the bench, Santos Verano scored 19 points in 17 minutes. Rhyan Tersol and Teodosio Amanted had a double-double contributing 15 points and 19 rebounds and 12 points and 13 rebounds with 5 blocks each, respectively.

Spitfire-guard Marko Andelkovic had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Kerry Octaviano had 19 points and 16 caroms.

The Mountaineers left their mark with 16 blocks in the game.

"Great win!" GM Nicolo maro said.

Battle for 4th spot: Cresta Verde Mountaineers vs So Awkward Players
The Cube, Philippines -- The game is set, two teams vying for a spot in the playoffs, So Awkward Players trying to create a separation while the Cresta Verde Mountaineers trying to grab that 4th spot. Who prevailed?

Mountaineers grabbed an early lead scoring 11-4 but Players catched up to end the 1st with 20-apiece. In the second quarter, they traded baskets with Players leading by 1, 42-41 to enter the half with Hung Chieh's breakway dunk.

Players breakaway in the third as they scored 32 points compared to Mountaineers 19 that ultimately led to their 96-87 victory in front of 15,263 fans.

Florante Neri led the Players with 24 points and 15 rebounds but it was Arcadio Silva's all around effort of 23 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists that puts them over the top.

Ananias Capuyan led the Mountaineers with 25 points while Benigno Besa had 20 points and 12 rebounds; Rhyan Tersol added 17 points and 15 boards.

"Getting unplayed is not the correct word, but they sure made our bigs work as Besa and Tersol collected 5 and 4 fouls in the game," GM Nicolo Maro said. "they were in foul-trouble the whole time."

The presence of Rosauro dela Cruz is surely missed as the Mountaineers had difficulty distributing the ball with -10 assists compared to Players 26. It didn't help as Fillmore Sabangan didn't fill the stat-sheet missing 17 of his 20 shots.

With four games left, can the Mountaineers make the playoffs?

Notes:
- Bandar Garganera of Players got injured in the game. He will miss two weeks.
- The Mountaineers organization are contemplating of having a news blackout by next season.