Team Atypical advances to championship of Triton League, KFC Bombers and Northern Construction to meet with winner advances to finals
Team Atypical came out scoring and beat Northern Construction 128 to 114 in an NBA-like game on Tuesday night at the UOG Calvo Field House in the Triton Men's Basketball League. The KFC Bombers also defeated the MicroFriends 88-68 to advance in the loser's tournament bracket.
Despite having only six players, Atypical defeated Northern Construction with standout performances from Ben Borja, who scored 40 points, and teammates Mark Johnson and Joe Blas, who contributed 33 and 30 points, respectively.
The game was close in the first quarter, with Atypical taking a 6-point lead, 28-22. Atypical got hot in the second period, scoring 41 points to Northern's 28. Led by Ben Borja's 14 points in the period, Atypical took a 19-point lead going into halftime, 69-50.
The third period was much the same, with Atypical adding 28 points and Northern Construction scoring 24, leaving Team Atypical leading 96-74 going into the fourth quarter. Northern was able to cut into Atypical's lead in the period because Atypical couldn't play much defense due to foul trouble on its limited squad of players. However, they kept the lead and won by 14, 128-114.
Ben Borja led Atypical with 40 points, Mark Johnson with 33, and Joe Blas with 30. Northern Construction was led by Jake Diwa with 29, and Fransico Helino added 26.
Team Atypical is now 6-1 in the Triton League, while Northern Construction fell to 6-2.
The KFC Bombers also had a limited roster on the night, starting with only five players, but had eight players by the time the second quarter began. The MicroFriends started the game cold from the field, only scoring 14 points in the first quarter, while the Bombers scored 24. The second quarter was an even affair, with KFC only outscoring the MicroFriends 16-15 in the period, leading 40-29 at halftime.
The Bombers got hot in the third period, scoring 32 points, while the "Friends" only added 18 points in the period, down 72-47 going into the final quarter. The MicroFriends had no answer for the Bombers' offense in the final 10 minutes and lost the game by 20, 88-68.
The Bombers had a balanced scoring attack led by Roderick Pollard, who scored 19 points. Laurence Tisalona, for the MicroFriends, led all scorers with 28 points.
The KFC Bombers are now 6-2 in the league, while the MicroFriends finished the fall Triton League with a 4-5 record.
The Bombers will face Northern Construction on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. in the UOG Calvo Field House. The winner of the game will face Team Atypical on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. for the Championship of the Triton Men's Basketball League.
If Atypical loses on Saturday night, there could be an "If Necessary" game on Tuesday, December 10.