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PLAYOFF action in the 2013 GHRA Basketball League began last night at the Tamuning Gymnasium with three games scheduled on the night. While the weather outdoors seemed to have cleared up, Calvo’s Insurance and Fiesta Resort brought a different kind of rain indoors in the first game of the evening. Both teams were money from long distance and combined for a total of 28 three-pointers in the game. However, at the sound of the final buzzer, only one team remained in the winners’ bracket of the double-elimination format while the other dropped. With the scoreboard reflecting a 108-55 score, it was the men from Calvo’s who garnered the playoff-opening victory.

From the start of the game, Calvo’s immediately set the early tempo as they jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead backed by 3s from Dominic Sablan and Nate Torres. Fiesta Resort put a brief halt to the run after Rodel Gatmen drained a baseline jumper from the right side. On the ensuing basket, Sablan nailed another shot from downtown to give his team a 13-2 lead.

Fiesta Resort’s Felix Yinug was not going to let his team fall too far behind early as he took matters into his own hands, scoring seven straight points to include a trey.

Just when Fiesta looked to be right back into the mix of things, the Calvo’s trio of Torres, Nick Santos and Mike Sgro found the bottom of the net after dialing in from long distance. Midway through the half, the Calvo’s lead eventually grew to 26-12. However, the rain continued to pour from beyond the arc as Sablan nailed his fourth 3 of the game followed by another from teammate Sean Perez for a 32-12 lead.

Peter Beltran responded for Fiesta sinking back-to-back 3s to trim his team’s deficit down to 14 points. However, the offensive firepower of Calvo’s just couldn’t simmer down and with two minutes left in the half, the lead ballooned to 53-25. In the last minute of the opening half, both teams combined for four 3s, making it a 59-31 lead in favor of Calvo’s going into the break.

Second half

After returning from the break, Calvo’s wasted no time going on a huge 25-7 surge to take a commanding 36-point lead over Fiesta. Despite great effort on both sides of the court, Fiesta just couldn’t spark a rally big enough to get back into the game. Later in the second half, a shot from beyond the arc by Yinug made it an 81-41 game. On the next two possessions, Joe Blas and Santos answered with buckets of their own. In the final three minutes of play, things worsened for Fiesta as the deficit reached the half-century mark when Sablan converted another shot from long range, making it a 102-51 game.

When the clock struck zero, it was Calvo’s who picked up a convincing win over their opponents.

Sablan led all scorers with a game-high 29 points, while teammates Blas and Sgro chipped in 21 and 17 points respectively. In the losing effort, Yinug led Fiesta Resort with 17 points. Teammate Dicknet Aien added 15.