Finals preview: Warriors vs OGs

On December 12, Team Warriors and Team OGs will square off at the championship round of the 2015 APCRAA Alumni Basketball Tournament (AABT) 2nd Conference men’s division.

Both Warriors and OGs were participants of the 2015 First Conference. While Team OGs finished last in the three-team tournament, Team Warriors defeated the ASPAC Boys to become the champion of the first alumni basketball tournament since 2011.

Archie Gratil of Team Warriors dominated that tournament, by scoring the most number of points among all players. This made him a shoo-in for the MVP award at the end of the conference.

Despite JP Redelick being the bright spot in the OGs roster and bringing his all at the previous conference, the team won just one game in their four assignments, with one game lost via forfeit.

Team Warriors kept most of its core players – Gratil, Guess Dela Cuesta and Pepe Canseco – in their 2nd conference roster. On the other hand, Team OGs reinforced their ranks, adding Mhar Paraiso and Paolo Diaz to their core.

The troika of Gratil, Dela Cuesta and Canseco were at the forefront of the Warriors’ 2nd Conference campaign. All three were contributing heavily to their team’s points and rebounds output, maintaining an undefeated streak in the elimination round and topping the team standings with a 6-0 record.

For the OGs, team chemistry became an issue, as most of their players only met for the first time during their maiden game in the 2nd Conference. They lost in their first two games, but logged a four-game winning streak, finishing the eliminations with a 4-2 slate.

Team Warriors automatically advanced to the semifinals for finishing at the top of the standings. They faced fourth-placer ASPAC Boys on December 5 and won, 65-62.

Team OGs, however, had to go to a quarterfinal playoff against Team Legacy, winning it with a convincing margin, 73-37 on November 28. Then, they proceeded to the semifinal round against 2nd-placer Team Bumblebees.

The Bumblebees were heavily favored in the semis matchup, but their key players were unavailable to play. This made their game against Team OGs a bit difficult to overcome. OGs eventually won the game, 91-77.

In their elimination round matchup, Team Warriors won the game, 67-58.

(see: Warriors dismantle OGs, join Bumblebees in top of standings)