Amigos Lon Mantua and JayHawks Reubert T Dog battles the rebound

Everybody expected the AMIGOS team to take this game easily having swamped the JayHawks in an earlier semis knockout game, 47-31.

But the 24-9 first quarter lead put up by the blackshirted squad slowly got eaten away by the Hawkmen with best forward Reubert Tandog, Patrick Obrien, Jay Peña, Jerome Danganan and Redmond Policarpio orchestrating well-timed plays to stay on the heels of the Amigos unit, 27-33, as the first half ended.

The start of the second half saw bodies being strewn everywhere with body slams, chest bangings and arms lockings taken out of the UFC scenes used to get their shots in.

The third quarter showed the AMIGOS unit still holding the upperhand behind the heroic acts of best center and finals MVP Verge Alcantara, bull-strong Cromwell Alvarez and streetball fighter and premier point guard Bing Mantua, 48-42.

It was at this point that the JayHawks posse clamped on defence, throwing a floating man-zone and 2-2-1 barrier to take the upperhand at 55-49 with 6 minutes remaining in the game as Josh McDonald, Obrien, Peña, Danganan and T-Dog converted on frontal stabs and side jumpers.

Desperation forays by blackshirt Alcantara and a semi hook shot from T-Dog coupled with a long trey from Hawkman Jo Paolo Policarpio saw the game tied at 64-all with 12 seconds remaining in the game.

But being the king of the jungle, the AMIGOS quintet drew on their last breath as Bing Mantua handled a loose ball to hit the final nail in the coffin with a dagger shot that broke the Hawkmen spirit and with it a classic 66-64 win for the multi-titled blackshirts to take the 4th NSW Fil-OZ Basketball Independence Day Champions Cup 2011 crown last Saturday (June 11).

The champions will receive game tickets to a Sydney Kings home game and be introduced as champions of the Fil-OZ Basketball League.

Individual awards went to James Longanathan MVP Eliminations, Verge Alcantara MVP Finals and Best Center, Reubert Tandog Best Forward and Bing Mantua Best Guard and 3-points scoring leader Jo Paolo Policarpio.

AMIGOS, winner of the NSW Fil-OZ Basketball Independence Day Champions Cup 2011

AMIGOS: Alcantara 23 Gile 9 B Mantua 9 L Mantua 7 J Mantua 6 Paule 6 Alvarez 4 Flores 4 Carlos

JayHawks: Tandog 14 McDonald 13 OBrien 12 Danganan 9 Peña 7 J Policarpio 6 R Policarpio 3 Mapagu Inductivo Collins Virtudazo

On another match, BlackRoses- Auburn pipped Mystic-Miller, 43-42, on Amanda Pagen free throw conversion.

It was only meant to be an exhibition game between these two champion women’s team from Auburn-PBA Division 1 and Miller/Liverpool Rebound Ball competitions.

But the way these two teams played, one would have thought a title was at stake. Prestige was the game prize and no one wanted to give in as niceties were thrown to the bin.

The BlackRoses started strong with Fe Emperon, Nix Reyes and Amanda Pagen leading the charge to take the first half, 23-14.

But the Mystic squad re-grouped at the start of the second half with Diana Rivera unleashing treys and strong plays by Kimi Cruz , Harley Williams and Bethany Sen to tug at the heels of the blackshirted unit.

It took a long trey from Joanne Estera, a short J by Pau Pastor and a free throw conversion from Amanda Pagen to seal the game for the Auburn champs BlackRoses, 43-42.

BlackRoses: Pagen 15 Estera 8 Emperon 8 Pastor 5 Reyes 4 Bautista 3

Mystic: Rivera 16 B Sen 8 Williams 6 Cruz 4 Bui 3 Dang 3 Halim 2 N Sen

Display of speed, muscle and cohesion... - Photos: J K Pimentel

A courageous Filipino selection shot to an early lead, 6-0, in the first three minutes of basketball at a packed Kevin Betts Stadium in Mount Druitt last Thursday, September 23, before being devoured by the Sydney Kings, 94-74, over four quarters.

Hoopdreamz’s Jets, an invitational team of Filipino and other local western Sydney players, provided the visitors with a perfect tune-up before the Kings open their re-entry to the National Basketball League (NBL) against New Zealand Breakers at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Saturday, October 16.

More than 500 die-hard basketball fans, mostly from the local Filipino communities of Parramatta, Blacktown and Penrith, filled the stadium to capacity. Kings’ owner Bob Turner showed up and watched his team display some speed, muscle and cohesion to stamp its authority through most of the game.

Scott McGregor top-scored for the Jet with 23 points. Damien Ryan led the Kings with 19. The result was never in doubt after the Kings chased the Jet’s early lead and never looked back.

Jets’ head coach Dave Riemer remarked: “What a great night. Marco Selorio, of Hoopcreamz did a great job of organising the event and taking the Kings out to Mt Druitt for one of their pre-season games.”

Local interest was drawn to representative players from the recently-completed Waratah Basketball League (WBL) competition. Former Penrith representative Ben Hollis, recently signed to the Kings as a development player, suited up for his new team. Former Penrith clubmates Goran Veg and Anto Lalic and former Hills District Hornets guard Ben Arkell played with the Jets, while former Parramatta Wildcats representative players Graeme Dann, Julian Khazzouh and Luke Martin were on the Kings’ side.

SCORES: Sydney Kings, 94 (Damien Ryan 19 points, Julian Khazzouh 12, Taj McCullough 11, Luke Cooper 10, Rod Grizzard 10). Hoopdreamz’ Jets, 74 (Scott McGregor 23 points, Goran Veg 15, Ben Arkell 13, Duane Jordan 11, Anto Lalic 10).

Amigos 3rd NSW Filos Basketball Champions Cup 2010 // Photo: Mon Policarpio

In the eighties, Cebu Uno lorded over the rest of the field at Bankstown stadium with mainstays Aaron Capala, Dodi Ramas and John Malabour.

In the nineties, it was Kogarah Magic’s turn to shine led by prized cager Gary Dormido.

And now, the AMIGOS basketball team has solidly stamped its name in history by being the best Filipino Australian basketball team of this decade when it captured the NASA Asia-Oceania title thrice last month defeating the Singapore Distillers and capturing their third NSW Filos Champions Cup at Auburn stadium with a scintillating 49-41 victory over the MERQUE Entertainers.

Virgil Alcantara 9 points and finals MVP Bing Mantua 9 points led the winning AMIGOS quintet in the grand finals scoreboard along with teammates Fil-Aussie James Longanathan 7 points, Francis Canlas 7 points, Cromwell Alvarez 6 points and Joemar Dormido 5 points. AJ Juven 12 points and Byron Murphy 9 points led the brave MERQUE team losing thrust in the finals.

The AMIGOS quintet earned its ticket to the grand finals by edging the JayHawks team in the semis, 31-28, in a bruising contest [8-7 halftime lead]. Bing Mantua 7 points and Virgil Alcantara 8 points led the winning AMIGOS squad while Fil-Aussie Josh MacDonald [elims MVP] scored 11 points along with Redmond Policarpio 7 points for the heartbroken JayHawks team.

MERQUE had to sweat it out in overtime [43-all] in the other semi-finals game, to swat Clintons Toyota A-grade game, 55-51. Byron Murphy 13 points, Marlon Mañas 8 points, Ricky Bautista 7 points and Bernard Bautista 7 points led the Entertainers winning production while Gil de Mesa 17 points, Jordan Montano 5 points and Morris Gutierrez 5 points anchored the brave and feisty Clintons Toyota squad in a losing cause.

The results of the elimination games and quarter-finals:

Group A

MERQUE defeated AMIGOS, 47-41

MERQUE defeated Rockdale Fil-Aus, 44-34

AMIGOS defeated Rockdale Fil-Aus, 86-26

AMIGOS defeated Marrickville X-team, 93-38

Group B

JayHawks defeated Clintons Toyota, 48-35

Clintons Toyota defeated Marrickville X-Team, 50-43

JayHawks defeated Marrickville X-Team, 85-39

Clintons Toyota defeated Rockdale Fil-Aus, 60-45

JayHawks team members after their championship match //Photo: Mon Policarpio

Their superb familiarity with each other’s playing position carried them over the fancied ABA-led Cardinals, 61-56.

Josh de la Torre-McDonald 12 points, Jo Paolo Policarpio 8 points, Jerome Danganan 8 points, David Baker 8 points, Redmond Policarpio 8 points and Igor Butarac 8 points starred for the JayHawks quintet.

The losing Cardinals squad was bannered by Jed Atherton 16 points and Trent Awadallah 22 points.

The JayHawks squad have also taken the number 2 semi-finals slot in the tough and on-going Australian Chinese Basketball association in the same Auburn stadium venue.

Smart Gilas Pilipinas in a huddle between quarters in one of the games ... Photo Credit: Gilas Pilipinas

It was the team’s fifth victory, having conceded a tie against the Australian Institute of Sport, 73-all, in the third game.

Former Ateneo Blue Eagles’ Japeth Aguilar proved the game’s big star, scoring 29 points and snatching10 rebounds for top billing.

Gilas’ coach Rajko Toroman said his young team saved the best for last, clearly benefiting from the tour and playing their best game against the toughest team they faced.

The Filipinos trailed at the end of the third quarter, 64-66, but played what Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas vice chairman and former Philippine Basketball Association chairman Ricky Vargas described as a “fantastic last period” to win.

Aguilar finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Marcio Lassiter had 17. Other scorers were Mark Barroca (14), skipper Chris Tiu (13), Greg Slaughter (7), Mac Baracael (6), Jason Ballesteros (5) and RJ Jazul (2).

Smart Gilas Pilipinas – Australian Tour Results: March 15 – Smart Gilas def. Australian U19 NT, 78-67; March 16 – Smart Gilas def. AIS, 79-73; March 17 – Smart Gilas ties AIS, 73-73; March 18 – Smart Gilas def. Canberra Gunners, 101-84; March 19 – Smart Gilas def. NSWIS, 82-63; March 21 – Smart Gilas def. Sydney City Comets, 93-81.

The Filipinos flew back to Manila for a brief rest before moving on to Serbia for another series.

“We did great in Australia and we hope to keep on improving with the Serbian trip,” said Smart Gilas manager Frankie Lim.

Gilas play the much taller Serbian club teams as part of a buildup for this year’s Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, and next year’s FIBA-Asia championship berth in the 2012 London Olympics.

The Black veterans team started fast, leading by 23-17 behind the torrid shooting performance of Oscar Bondoc 20 points, Joy Nacua 9 points and Miguel Aguilela 6 points.

But the white veterans team would not be denied as it mounted a fierce rally to win by 57-51 behind the kumpadre duo of Jun Caparas 24 points and Peter Garcia 8 points. The duo was also ably supported by bemoustached Alvin Lai 8 points, Jun Banan 6 points and Danny David 4 points.

Funhauz 1 Señor Amigos lost heart and game to rampaging MERQUE 1 Entertainers, 42-56

The MERQUE 1 posse were in high spirits, smiling and laughing as they went through their warm-up motions before the game.

But the Funhauz 1 Señor Amigos had the serious and determined look on their faces. They knew they had to put up their best and hope to replicate their semi-finals win over the sky blue shirted team.

The Funhauz 1 team started solid and strong with point guard extraordinaire Henry Nayle 9 points, Arvin Rentoy 14 points, and Emer Arago 4 points combining to build a 22-18 halftime lead.

But the MERQUE 1 squad clamped down on defence with Byron Murphy 15 points, Ricky Bautista 7 points and Jerry Dulait 6 points at the helm. The trio were assisted by the dominance of the painted area by Nathan “tall poppy” Aplitt 15 points, jumping jack Justin McCulla 9 points and Marc Hutchinson 4 points.

From that point in the 3rd quarter and onwards, the MERQUE 1 Entertainers just bid their time, answering basket after basket to sweep the maroon jersey squad to pluck their second championship in a row, 56 – 42

The Sydney JOKERS titter their way to its first ever championship over the MERQUE 2 squad, 51-38

If the cheeky smile of playing coach Rene Sergio was any indication, the blackshirted team would win the championship as they had the fastest point guard in Division 1 in Dennis Cariño 15 points, the sweet-shooting prowess of shooting forwards Arnold Gravador 8 points and Romy Hapin 7 points, the reliable support of high-jumping power forward Erik Elman 4 points and the backcourt support of offguard Alex Tinga 2 points.

The performance of this dirty bunch was evident at the start of the game as they peppered the opposition’s defence with beautiful and successful breeches in MERQUE 2′s defensive wall.

Even the court savvy of Bruise brothers Jojo Villote 10 points and Jojo Eluna and the emotionally charged performance shown by its owner-player Sam Mercaidez 10 points could not match the jolly intensity put up by the Sydney Jokers quintet as the MERQUE 2 Entertainers finally succumbed, 38-51.

Amigos Mechanical Repair team members

Amigos Mechanical Repair repeat as champions of the NSW State Filos Basketball Champions Cup 2009, clipping the wings of the JayHawks, 36-30, in a tight and bruising second half action.

The multi-titled Amigos squad started strong and built up a 20-6 lead in the 1st quarter behind the hulking figure of 7′ Patrick Pilae 4 points and the inspired performance of power forward Jomar Dormido 11 points.

But playing coach Jo Paolo Policarpio would not have any of these with their reputation as one of the best Filos basketball squad at stake. He gathered his Hawkmen and devised a play that evolved on Hills district ABA player Reubert Tandog 12 points [Finals MVP] and allowed him to snake his way into the Amigos team defence.

The first half still ended in the Amigos favour, 23 – 10, as Virgil Alcantara 3 points and Iverbon Liceralde 2 points kept the JayHawks quintet at bay.

Bodies falling, arms flailing, and in your face defence were the norm at the start of the bruising second half action as both teams knew this was the time to either build up a comfortable lead or cut down the opponent’s advantage to manageable levels.

Amigos sentinels Jed and John Mantua continued to puncture the hoops and supported behemoth center Pat Pilae. But the Hawkmen slowly and surely crept their way back into the game with twisting lay-ups from the peppery guard Redmond Policarpio 4 points, T-dog Tandog, Fil-Aussie Josh Mcdonald 8 points and a rim rattling dunk from Jeff Peak 4 points to come to within a 28-31 score.

But being the King Lions of the jungle, the Amigos five kept their composure and with spiritual leader and captain Cromwell Alvarez orchestrating the tempo, held off the JayHawks as he made the crucial foul throws to seal the game and the championship, 36-30.

Individual MVP awards went to Anthony Cogan [Eliminations] and Reubert Tandog [Grand Finals]. Kirk Martinez of the Belmore Club topped the 3-points shooting contest.

AMIGOS = Dormido 11 M Mantua 6 C Alvarez 5 P Pilae 4 J Mantua 3 V Alcantara 3 B Mantua 2
I Liceralde 2 J Paule

JAYHAWKS = R Tandog 12 J McDonald 8 R Policarpio 4 J Peak 4 J Herrera 2 J Policarpio A Aebi
C Woelders E Woelders H Albano D Baker

The participating teams will be made up of champion teams and challengers from the various Metro Sydney Filos basketball competitions.

Based on the initial expressions of interest to join received so far, the participants are HD Amigos (Defending Champions Cup Champions 2008), JayHawks (Runners-up Champions Cup 2008), MERQUE 1 (NorthWestFilos Champion), TRD Real Estate/ BM Express AGUILAS (NorthWestFilos Challenger), FIL-AUS (Marrickville Sunday competition challenger), and EASTIES (Miller/Liverpool competition challenger).

The play format will be for the top two finishers in each group to play in a cross over semi-finals, with the winners playing for the Champions Cup 2009 in the grand finals. Individual team trophies and a perpetual cup are at stake during the event.

There will also be a 3- points shooting contest with a cash prize and trophy for the winner.

The winner and runner-up of this two day tournament will qualify the teams to represent NSW in the National Basketball Games [NASA Asia Oceania] to be held in Perth next Easter week 2010.

Any other champion/ challenger teams wanting to join may contact Makisig Oz Sports c/- Mon Policarpio on mobile number 0402 362 838. Makisig Oz Sports is the organiser of the basketball champions cup.

The participating teams will be made up of champion teams in the various Metro Sydney Filos basketball competition.

Basketball players in one of their preparatory games for the Basketball Champions Cup

Based on the confirmations received so far, the seeding will be as follows:

South Group A = TopGlass [ Liverpool-Miller], Rockdale [Khroliks], Filo JayHawks [PBA Wildcats Division 1]

North Group B = Sydney Amigos [NorthWest SYD], Mario’s [Emerton-Rooty Hill], Broadway or Campbelltown or MERQUE 1/TQDanao Gunners selection

Any other champion teams wanting to join may contact Mon Policarpio on mobile number 0402 362 838 or email: northwestfilos [at] yahoo [dot] com

The play format will be for the top two finishers in each group to play in the semi-finals, with the following matchups:

Group A1 vs Group B2

Group A2 vs Group B1

The winners of the semi-finals will play a grand finals knockout game. A Perpetual trophy [3 years successive championship] and small replica of the perpetual trophy will be awarded to the champion team.

There will also be a 3- points and a 2- ball shooting contest. Cash prizes and trophies await the winners of these two special events.

This event will be a follow-up to the successful 32nd edition of the National Aust-Fil Sports Association-Asia Oceania series which was won by the Sydney Amigos team over the MISC Melbourne quintet.

#