By Jun Rana
With the game tied and no time left on the clock, Dave Setters nailed his second free throw in front of his team’s jubilant cheering fans, to lift No Way to a pulsating 71-70 win over Wala Sa Ayos (WSA) in Day 7 of Open Division of the 2010 PAAD Palaro basketball tournament. It was the third win in six games for No Way, but in the process it entered the semifinals as the third ranked team based on the quotient system. It was a heart breaking loss for WSA considered by many as a shoe in for the semi-finals.
The dramatic win was also a tribute to No Way Coach Paul Micarsos impressive coaching skills. Three teams were tied from third to fifth place, namely No Way, Dynamic and WSA. Under the quotient system, No Way and Dynamic took the third and fourth semifinal spots and WSA was relegated into fifth place ranking in the tournament.
In the unique quotient system based on the points among the three teams involved in the tie, No Way’s mission before the start of the game was not only to win but to score at least 65 points. Leading by only 2 points at the half at 23-21, Coach Micarsos made an adjustment in the second half by having the team switched from the zone defense to the man to man defense. No Way then allowed MVP candidate Paul Nicdao to either shoot a three or drive to the basket, thus making the game faster. Micarsos also instructed his players not to settle for jump shots but drive the ball to the basket. The calculated risk paid off as the teams virtually exchanged basket for basket making the game a high scoring affair.
As the two teams entered the one minute remaining mark in the game, No Way had already achieved the magic number of 65, and was leading 67-61. Coach Micarsos instructed his wards to control the ball in order to win the game. At this point Dave Setters and BJ Advento were leading the No Way assault. WSA however, led by Nicdao, Armando Concepcion and Michael Alegarbes dropped a 9-3 bomb to tie the score at 70 all time down to 8 seconds. WSA’s last shot was a three point shot by Alegarbes, his first basket for the game. This set the stage for Setters’ heroics. With time down to 2 seconds, Setters drove to the lane and was fouled on the act of shooting as the time expired. Setters missed the first free throw. However, he made the next pressure packed free throw as the No Way fans jumped for joy.
Box Scores:
71 - No Way: Dave Setters, 26: BJ Advento, 24; Rudy Mallari, 11; Alex Alday, 4; Kenneth Savella, 4; Arnold Dawinan, 2
70 – Paul Nicdao, 28; Jeff Verneza, 20; Armando Concepcion, 8; Kenny Santos, 7; Roque Guerzon, 4; Michael Alegarbes, 3
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