3rd Season Opening was a Success but not for the Stallions

 

 At M. Dela Fuente Street.

February 28, 2010 - Opening day of the 3rd Season of the Sunday Club. All the teams parade their way along with the festive drums around the embracing community. The ceremony with the supportive congressman, Rudy Bacani was well proceeded at the Vicente Cruz covered-court.

 

Jeg Gilongos (left) and Eric Sudiacal (right)

After couple of months of lay-off, Jeg Gilongos (from team blue) and Eric Sudiacal emerged at the top of their games on the training camp hence shown interest, and readiness of joining the ranks of the Stallions. Head coach, Elmer Galvez, seen a lot of untapped talent from the two players and yet their brand of game suits well the team's ragged game style. 

"Eric can provide agility from the back court, which is the team's Achille's heel while Jeg has the brute to empower the forefront of the team. In addition these guys can simply score proficiently." says Elmer. 

 

Congressman Rudy Bacani awarded the 1st runner up before the tip-off.

The tradition continues - Stallions vs Yellow graced the opening game for the 4th time however not everything followed as the Yellow team finally ended the 3rd game winning streak of their rival at the season opener. It was a sweet revenge from being knocked out last season on the play-off at the hands of the Stallions.

Maybe the win of the Yellow wasn't very traditional but truly the Stallions gave them a fierce competition. The game was played in a play-off atmosphere, the crowd remained to bask at the sultry afternoon watching every action of the heated game. 

An 11 point lead was momentarily enjoyed by the Stallions as for the first half. Everybody significantly contributed to have the advantage. The trouble came when the defense become complaisant at the remaining quarters. The Yellow team had numerous easy baskets at the shaded area which propelled them ahead. With a deteriorated defense, also the team struggled on offense because of the opponent's full court pressure - faltered both ends of the court. 

Mykee Nodalo still played to help the team after work, such a commendable effort.

Supposedly easy baskets wasn't made, freethrows were missed, turnovers accumulated hence everything turned sour. The Stallions played bad at the second half however it was seemingly a winnable game. It's not yet over until it's over -- therefore the team can't afford to relax at any point of the game, it has been the tendency most of the time which should be changed in order win games consistently. No doubt about the might of the Stallions, it was proven, the thing was it didn't come altogether in a challenging situation.

It's the first time that the Stallions started the season on its wrong foot. Nevertheless it was a learning experience, 6 more games to go - ample time to make adjustments in order to bring the Stallions back into the winning track.