Gillamac's '97 vs. White Gold '96 in SHABA Finals

Defending champion Gillamac's '97 relied on its patented pressing defense to sweep Worldwide Steel '99 with a 61-53 Game 2 victory in the Eagles division finals of the 10th Sacred Heart Alumni Basketball Association (SHABA) season at the SHS-J Gym.

2002 MVP and last year's Finals MVP Shean Barte led Gillamac's balanced attack to earn them their 6th trip to the finals.

Worldwide led by one at halftime and by five early in the third quarter, but Gillamac's turned up the defense to take a four-point lead into the final canto.

The poise of the defending champs was evident in the dying minutes as Worldwide couldn't get any offensive rhythm going.

Barte led Gillamac's with 19 points, while Walter Ong added 15. Kent Ong led Worldwide with 20 points.

In the other game, White Gold '96 earned its first ever trip to the finals by also sweeping the Lux Oriens division finals against five-time champs Fighter Wine '90 with a 61-49 triumph.

Gio Borromeo was the man of the hour for White Gold, pumping in 20 points, while Juny Alejandro chipped in 14. White Gold led 26-12 in the second quarter, but Fighter Wine launched a 17-0 run to close the first half with a three-point lead.

Fighter Wine extended its lead to eight in the third canto before a barrage of 3-pointers by Borromeo, Alejandro and Siarot gave White Gold a 44-40 cushion entering the final period.

From there, momentum was clearly on White Gold's side as they outhustled and outran the tired Fighter Wine squad. Dave Lim led Fighter Wine with 17 points.

Game 1 of the best-of-three finals is set this Sunday at 2:30 pm at the SHS-J Gym.

First game

Gillamac's '97 (61) - Barte 19, Ong 15, Sy 10, Sia 5, Ledesma 4, Go 2, Lim 2, Tan 2, Ariate 1, Sala 1

Worldwide Steel '99 (53) - Ong 20, Pritchard 12, Gilo 10, Huang 7, Esposo 2, Montejo 2, Sykimte 2

Quarterscores: 12-10, 28-29, 44-40, 61-53

Second game

White Gold '96 (61) - Borromeo 20, Alejandro 14, Uy 10, Siarot 9, Tan 3, Yap 3, Mangubat 2

Fighter Wine '90 (49) - Lim 17, Go 8, Que 8, Canares 6, Arienza 4, Yu 4, Ng Chee 2

Quarterscores: 15-10, 26-29, 44-40, 61-49