Marpac-Budweiser is king of the court

Marpac-Budweiser crowned themselves king of the 2nd Annual R&J Wine and Liquor Inter-Gov’t/Business League after they heavily defeated Priority Care, 111-84, in the championship game at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium last Saturday.

It was a neck-and-neck game in the first half, but Marpac claimed rights to the trophy after they barraged the basket later in the game. Fast-break plays and execution from deep territory allowed Marpac to yield a huge lead, 111-71, just a few minutes left in the fourth quarter.

It was turnover galore and Marpac converted all their steals into back-to-back points within a span of just about a minute, which left Priority Care dead in the water. Priority Care were left struggling to keep up while Marpac continued to make moves and add to their ever-growing lead.

Priority Care was out-hustled despite the effort of their three core players, Steve King, Marvin Rabauliman, and Matt Duenas, by a stronger Marpac roster made up of three 2024 Micronesian Games players—Chioni Dela Cruz, Coby Santos, and Greg Sablan, along with seasoned veterans.

Dela Cruz, like in the regular season, lived in three-point territory, scoring from there six times. He also converted field goals that added to his total and in the end led the team with 37 points. With that, he was named the finals’ Most Valuable Player.

He was assisted by Coby Santos who contributed 29 points himself, while Greg Sablan was not far behind with 27 markers. As for Priority Care, their offense was held at bay, with King scoring 29 points, and Rabauliman putting up 24, while the rest of the team managed only single digit contributions.

Marpac was made up of Dela Cruz, Santos, Sablan, Jeff Castro, James Lee, Henry Sablan, Ricky Riungel, Frank Mettao, Bobby Castro, John Diaz, Mac Goaliem, and Tom Basa, and were coached by Rep. Elias Rangamar.

Rangamar said of their team’s championship win after the game, “It’s a testament to the hard work they did throughout the season…. It’s all about the execution. We’re only about seven or eight [players] deep but the guys just executed our plan. We know that those teams can run—they do a lot of cherry picking. We know that their three guys Marvin, Matt, and Steven, were the main guys. So those were the guys we keyed on and it worked.”

As for the league, he said, “This is awesome. We started up in 2021 and I’m glad it’s still growing, and with the new facility as well—it’s great to see it.”

Marpac 111 – Dela Cruz 37, Santos 29, G. Sablan 27, Castro 8, Lee 4, H. Sablan 2, Riungel 2, Mettao 1.

Priority Care 84 – King 29, Rabauliman 24, Aldan 9, Duenas 8, Maratita 6, Manglona 6, Elameto 2.