New recruit Ian Torres proved to be the Cav Guard’s difference maker as he lead his team to a come-from-behind victory against Team OG’s 80-76 at the continuation of the APCRAA Alumni Basketball Tournament (AABT) 2016 season on Saturday, August 27 at the APC Gymnasium.
Torres, who replaced Joefel Evangelio in the Cav Guard roster, scored 27 points and shot 6 out of 11 attempts in the three point arc. Mervin Quilang had a double-double game with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Christian Tragico also helped the team with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 steals.
The Big Three of Team OGs have led the team to a close finish. Mhar Paraiso scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for a second double-double game this season. Paolo Diaz and JP Redelick also contributed in points production with 15 and 11 points respectively. Big man Ryan Go crashed the boards with 14 rebounds, and scoring 10 points.
Team OGs came out strong in the first period and led up to 15 points. They were able to maintain the lead before halftime, 37-27. The Cav Guards began to chip away OG’s lead. Ian Torres began scored 13 points in the 3rd period, mostly from the three point arc. This helped the Cav Guards to lead the game with four points, 57-53 before the start of the fourth quarter.
Team OGs tried to stay close and regain the lead and was able to tie the game, 66-all with 4:47 left in the game. The game went back and forth, after Tragico’s 3 point shot and was answered back by Redelick’s 3 point basket. The game was then tied again, 73-all before the two minute warning.
Following a split charity free throw by Redelick, Torres made a three point attempt to give the Cav Guards a two point lead. The OGs were not able to answer back after three attempts in the three point line and the game was sealed up after Torres made his two free throws..
The two teams will be in action on September 3 as Team OGs will meet the Warriors for the first time since the 2015 Second Conference Finals. The Cav Guards will face the undefeated Team Bumblebees in the second game.
Boxscores (click here for full stats):
Cav Guards (80): Torres 27, Quilang 18, Tragico 16, Corsino 6, Hermo 5, Narciso 3, Cabayan 3, Sandigan 2 Barcena 0
OGs (76): Paraiso 16, Diaz 15, Redelick 11, Go 10, Yardan 7, Beltran 6, Rivera 5, Prayco 4, Artymiak 2, Agito 0, Belran 0
Quarterscores: 10-23, 27-37, 57-53, 80-76