LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The Legal Office Team representatives gave the Executive Mixers a dose of their own poison by outgunning them from the outside, wrapped the championship of Season 5 of the Laity Cup, 74-61, and takeover possession of the inter-office crown last January 26, 2017 at the San Jose Gym, here.
The Legal Officers found their rhythm from the outside in the third and combined with blistering non-stop attempts from both perimeter sides of the court to turn a manageable nine point halftime lead to an insurmountable 23 point lead at the end of the third.
Hoven Bolislis scored 10 points from the perimeter, including with two triples, and Atty. Neilson Sabog added seven, including a trey to beat a shot clock buzzer, to tow the Legal Officers to outscore the Mixers, 24-10, in the third and put the game away with a resounding 65-42 advantage by the time the third canto buzzer sounded.
Ironically, it was consistent outside snipping that the Mixers used to snatch the initial championship of the bracket during the fourth season against the Justice Team last year when their guards poured in shot after shot from rainbow country.
They could not duplicate the feat this time as the Mixers hot shooting suddenly deserted them when they needed it most at the start of the third. The seemingly uncooperative rim after the change courts threw out attempts that are even at point blank distances.
The Mixers missed makeable perimeter shots as well as short jumpers and could only muster two triples for the entire game, although they were sorely missing their main outside threat, Gusval Bolislis, in this game. Their backcourt knocked in nine treys during the last championship to carry them to the win.
(See related story: Executives Deploy Barrage of Triples to Capture Laity Special Cup)
Rex Kitayan scored 16 of his team-high 19 points in the first half to jumpstart the Legal Team’s offense.
He scored nine in the first canto to reverse an early 4-7 deficit to a 21-13 lead late in the quarter. Sabog added eight points with two triples during this scorching 17-6 run. Geneger Dela Cruz kept the Mixers in the game by pouring 10 of his game-high 21 points.
Kitayan again spearheaded the second canto offense, canning seven points to increase their advantage to as high as 11 late in the second. Atty. Jake Sagpa-ey and Jay Daliones contributed four each while Hoven Bolislis knocked in his first triple for the night during this run. Arman Bolislis held the forth for the Mixers early in the second with his five points including a rainbow shot.
Then the Legal Officers turned on the heat amidst the sour shooting of the Mixers in the third to ignite the breakaway. Only four Mixers were able cash in at least a point and nobody scored more than the four points of David Linggon during the span. The Mixers’ woes were too bad that Hoven Bolislis matched their entire third quarter output.
By the time John Fernandez Jr. drained the Legal Team’s seventh and final triple early in the fourth, the game was already in the bag for them, 68-47.The Mixers tried to initiate a last ditch mid-fourth quarter assault as the Legal bench trooped to the floor but their attempts were refusing to sink into the net and the carryover of their third quarter inability to put the spheroid to the basket made the rally fizzle as the game clock expired.
The Legal Team became the seventh champion of the Laity Cup during the league’s two and a half year, six season existence, marking the balance of the league and its advocacy of giving chances to less privileged players and teams who cannot actively participate in competitive games to also experience the thrills of winning in official sanctioned games.
The Joseans bagged Season 1, CCDC got Season 2, and the KTB Apostles and the La Trinidad Public Marketers were were tops during the two-bracket season 3. The Marketers repeated in Season 4 then came the Mixers in the Special tournament. The La Trinidad Berries became the sixth different champ by bagging the BBA Cup segment which is under the Laity Cup umbrella.
A sure eighth different champion will be crowned in the near future as the religious teams inspired bracket is underway in this two-bracket fifth season. All participating teams have not yet tasted a Laity Cup title.Meanwhile, the DepEd Mentors captured the bronze when Justice failed to field five players on the floor to complete the tournament’s top winners.
The scores:
Legal 74: Kitayan 19, Sabog 17, H. Bolislis 13, Daliones 12, Fernandez 7, Sagpaey 4, Baron Molintas 2, Bartolo Deneng, Noli Guiad Ferdinand Catores
Executive Mixers 61: De La Cruz 21, Galunza 10, Paulito Dayso 8, Rolly Paleng 7, A. Bolislis 6, Linggon 6, Allan Contero 3, Collin Lumbican, G. Bolislis, Haggard Pantaleon.
Quarterscores: 21-15, 41-32, 65-42, 74-61.
3 point shots made: Sabog 3, H. Bolislis 3, Fernandez 1, A. Bolislis 1, Contero 1.
BY: ARMANDO M. BOLISLIS.See previous Laity Cup championships:
Joseans Upend Capitol, Crowned Laity Cup Season 1 Champions
Admirals dethrones Joseans in Laity Cup 2
Executives Deploy Barrage of Triples to Capture Laity Special Cup
Berries upend Carrots, Bag BBA Tourney
