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Alba saves the day for Predators’s 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.
ABT Season 5 – Women's Division Finals – Eulalie Alba buzzer beater
LOOK: Lalie Alba's game winning basket, her first career field goal, giving the Predators their first championship for the ABT Women's Division.#ABTSeason5
Nai-post ni APCRAA Basketball Tournament noong Sabado, Oktubre 12, 2019
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