Alba saves the day for Predators’ first ABT championship

Coming off a steal from Hanna Cruz and a missed basket from Eunice Mabborang, Eulalie Alba scored the first and most-important field goal of her alumni basketball career as she made a buzzer-beater follow-up basket to give Team Predators a two-point lead, enough to snag the APCRAA Basketball Tournament Women’s Division Championship against BNS, 42-40, on Saturday, October 12, at the Asia Pacific College Gymnasium.

Alba, who only played three out the five Predators games, grabbed 11 rebounds and had 2 steals for the entire 18 minutes she played in their championship game.

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This is also the Predators’ fifth consecutive win this season, becoming the first team in ABT women’s division history to sweep a tournament with more than two participating alumni teams.

Most Improved Player Michelle Alison became the vital cog of Team Predators, scoring 17 points, with 17 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. For this, she was named the Finals Most Valuable Player. Jiezl-Ann Turo also had a double-double game with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Predators had a headstart, leading by as much as 7 points in the first half. BNS started strong at the start of the second half and were in the driver’s seat with an eight-point lead, 34-26, going into the fourth quarter.

Things got sour for BNS due to turnovers and missed shots. Predators then had a 12-3 run to regain the lead, 38-37, with only 2:10 left. Krizia Valdez sank both of her free throws after being fouled by Mabborang to bring the lead back to BNS, 39-38. Alison hit a two-point jumper to push Predators again in front. In the ensuing play, Valdez got hacked again by Mabborang and split her charities to tie the game at 40-all with 23 seconds left.

Flores contributed most of the points for BNS, with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 7 steals while Valdez had an output of 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

THE SCORES:

PREDATORS (42): Alison 17, Turo 10, Chua 6, Francisco 5, Mabborang 2, Alba 2, Cruz 0

BNS (40): Flores 15, Valdez 11, Dulay 5, Carrillo 4, Cambay 3, Tesalona 2, Galang 0, Alquiros 0, Factuar 0, Formento 0, Danao 0

QUARTERSCORES: 13-8, 17-16, 26-34, 42-40

REFEREES: R. Francisco, A. Sarmiento, J. Buce

FIBA LiveStats: https://www.fibalivestats.com/u/APC/1344595