Moni Plus knock out Wel Builders

Normal, Sports

INSPIRED by the presence of their general manager, Gajanan Barbe, Moni Plus went on to knock out Wel Builders 90-66 last Sunday in the FILBA minor semi-finals at Don Bosco Indoor Gymnasium at Gabutu,  Port Moresby.
Five players from Moni Plus scored double digits led by Wally Parapa with 26 points, Oliver Regondola 14, Tony Haro 14, Colin Wiltshire 13 and Ninoy Tordilla 12.
The moneylenders came into the playoffs as underdogs with a 6-6 win/loss card compared to Wel Builders 8-4 win-loss card.
On the outset, Moni Plus did not waste time and rallied for 17-7 advantage in the first quarter.
Wel Builders, playing with the exception of centre Robert Kave, responded with Lito Bayaton’s 3-pointer and Andrew Santos attacking the shaded lane but Builders’ centre Richard Arava struggled to defend against Moni Plus forwards Wiltshire, Parapa and Tordilla who continued to pound the board to establish a commanding lead at half-time break 39-23.
Wel Builders owner-coach Wilbert Mendoza went back to the drawing board and his boys came back strongly in the third quarter with a 17-6 rally that cut down the lead to just five points, 45-40.
Moni Plus recovered in the dying minutes of the third quarter to push back Builders 59-44.
In the fourth and final quarter, Wel Builders again threatened Moni Plus when prolific guard Ernani Bautista hit three 3-point shots in a row but Moni Plus guard Regondola drilled his own version of a 3-point shot to frustrate the Builders.
Moni Plus boss Barbe, who came to support, was pleased with the performance of his team but at one stage he was worried that the opposition would take over the lead.
Eltech, who came in number 1 on the ladder were edged out by Triple 8 in an epic battle, 86-85.
Triple 8 were leading 86-83 with less than 10 seconds in the game. Apiah Muri missed a 3-point equaliser but Purari grabbed the offensive rebound and also missed the put back and the ball went out of bounds.
With two seconds on the clock, Eltech scored two points but not enough to force an over time.