Oliver Gatpandan, an obscure employee of the DAPCC Pasig, stood tall when he scored the marginal point to give the White team a 66-65 victory over the Reds in the second game of their best-of-three championship series and enable his team to clinch the 2015-16 DAP basketball tournament via a 2-0 sweep last February 17 at the DAP court.
Gatpandan scored a total of 13 points, none bigger than the free throw he sank that broke a 65-all tie with three seconds left as he preserved a yeoman’s job done by big man Erwin de Vega, who topscored for the eventual champions with 17 points while providing solid work off the boards. Redentor Fabian, a contemporary of former PBA veterans Paul Alvarez and Eugene Quilban at San Sebastian during his college days, also made a hefty contribution with 13 points while assuming most of the ballhandling duties.
Close game
The decisive game, which followed up the Whites’ come-from-behind 71-60 victory in the finals opener, was close almost throughout, with the Reds seemingly poised to force a rubber match only after leading once by 11 points in the third quarter. The Whites, however, finished stronger than their rivals, who were led by Pedrito Garcia with 19 points but seemed to lose steam in the end as Jonah Ang, who usually complemented Garcia, played poorly in the finals, accounting for a total of only 11 points.
Earlier, the Whites also overcame a 12-point deficit to take the initiative in the finals as they broke away in the end. Fabian and De Vega combined for 29 points this time as they wielded the big stick for their club, who also got 13 points from Felix Sual Jr.
Both squads made it to the finals by beating their respective opponents in the semifinals in contrasting fashion.
Overcame twice-to-beat
The Whites came off a fourth-place finish in the eliminations to overcome the twice-to-beat topnotcher Yellow squad. Red, the elims’ second-placer, meanwhile, disposed of third-placer Green in just one game, although it had to go overtime to do it.
White first beat Yellow 56-51 to force a winner-take-all match in their semis matchup. The eventual champions then repeated in an exciting second contest that went the extra period 77-75 as De Vega scored 17 points and Sual added 16, four of them in overtime.
The Reds also needed extra time to barge into the finals as they waxed hot, then cold and then hot again in scoring a 95-83 overtime triumph over Green. Garcia, one of the best players in the tournament, had a tournament-high 32 points as he powered Red to its finals-clinching victory. The three-point-shooting Ang backed him up with 21 points, including six in overtime.
Third place
Third place in the tournament, which is played regularly as part of the Academy’s human resource development program that aims to give employees as well as stakeholders a balanced work life, eventually went to Green, which beat Yellow 96-93 as Deejay Timoteo fired 29 points and Xander Salas added 18.
Making up the champion White squad, besides De Vega, Fabian, Sual and Gatpandan, are Prudencio Cumabig, Edgardo Umali, Sandy de la Torre, Angel Clemente, Gerald Cruz, Paul Marquez, Jomar Pastrana, Ralph Canonigo, Michael Estanislao, Vermon Gonzalez and Noly Gadia. Coaching the team was Cayetano Arellano Jr.