Semifinals matchup preview: Bumblebees vs OGs
Two teams will square off on Saturday, December 5, for a chance to crack into the championship round of the 2015 APCRAA Alumni Basketball Tournament (AABT) 2nd conference men’s division.
Team OGs, who finished third in the three-team First Conference, will meet newcomers team Bumblebees in the semifinals.
The core of team OGs when they first participated in the tournament is still intact, with JP Redelick, Jon Batuhan and Jeb Agito leading the team. The team got new reinforcements for the 2nd conference: Mhar Paraiso and Paolo Diaz.
Paraiso, who averages double-double figures of 17.7 points, 16 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game is clearly the main man of the team. Diaz heavily contributes in the points of the team, with a 19.3 ppg average.
While JP Redelick lifted the OGs during the First Conference, and was even included in the Mythical 5 selection, and still has averages respectable figures of 16.8 ppg and 4.6 rpg, he has yet to make a full impact on their team performance, as he was able to play for limited minutes and missed two of their team’s six elimination games.
For Team Bumblebees, their core is made up of Norman Ringor, Brix Estabillo and Joemark Belardo. Ringor, who is currently the leading candidate in the Most Valuable Player (MVP) race, dominates the rebounding category with 18 rebounds per game, while scoring most of his points in the paint, averaging 16.5 points per game.
Estabillo is the main playmaker of the team, scoring with a double digit average of 18.8 ppg. Belardo has the best field goal percentage among the three, making 38 out of 75 attempts in the field (50.7%).
The first time the two teams met was on September 19: both as their first assignments in the elimination round. It was a close game as the lead for both teams swung 17 times during the game. It ended up with the Bumblebees escaping with a 65-61 victory against the OGs.
(See: Bumblebees sting OGs)
While team chemistry issued plagued both teams in their first encounter, both had their own winning streaks afterwards. After losing to Team Warriors, the OGs had a four-game winning streak to cap their elimination round at third place with a 4-2 win-loss card. The Bumblebees lost to Team Warrios in their next game, but ended the eliminations with a three game winning streak to secure the automatic semis berth at 5 wins and 1 loss.
The Bumblebees earned the outright semifinals berth, while the OGs needed to crawl through the quarterfinals against Team Legacy, which they won in a blowout game on November 28.
The winner of this semifinals series will be up against the winner of the Warriors-ASPAC Boys matchup in the championship round on December 12.