K and K Rentals dunked over JPR Cleaning in the FCBLY (Filipino Canadian Basketball League of Yukon) and Yukon Basketball youth final Saturday.
The final took place at the F.H. Collins Secondary School gym in Whitehorse.
K and K led 25-18 at the end of the first quarter.
It was 41-37 for K and K at the half as JPR mounted a comeback spearheaded by Jeffries Rumbaoa.
Rumbaoa, who led JPR with 30 points, then tied the game at 50 in the third quarter.
Isaiah Cabiso then took matters into his own hands, leading the charge for K and K, who went on a 10-2 run to put them up 60-52.
The red-hot Cabiso drained a three to put K and K up 65-54 with 7.7 seconds left in the third quarter.
K and K’s run continued in the fourth quarter, putting them up 77-58 with 6:55 left in the game.
The smallest player on the court, Daniel Regis, much to the delight of the crowd, and Enrique Miral Jr. drained back to back threes which were like daggers to JPR’s championship aspirations, making the score an insurmountable 91-75 with 1:03 left in the game.
The final score was 91-82 for K and K Rentals.
After the game, Cabiso said, “God helped me get this win. He’s been there with me all the time.
“I’m thankful for my teammates. The energy’s up all the time, and we got this win.”
Cabiso was also named season MVP.
“I wasn’t expecting this. I was just trying to win the game. But I got the MVP, so I’m happy.”
Of his dominant effort after JPR tied the game at 50, Cabiso said, “I was just trying to make sure we were still in this game and get this win.”
Cabiso also thanked the fans, his parents and his sisters for supporting him.
Of JPR’s valiant effort, Rumbaoa said, “We had to fight every single minute. We just had to keep our spirits up. We couldn’t let that score discourage us.”
Rumbaoa pointed out that JPR was missing four of their players due to vacations. In fact, they only had one sub on the bench.
“It would have been great to have them but you can’t really control that. We just tried to stand our ground.
“We were starting to run out of gas there, at the end. I was feeling the fatigue.”
Rumbaoa added the team was still feeling the effects of an overtime game in the semi-finals.
“We’re proud to make it to the finals, especially with how under-manned we were. Everyone on our team really stepped up when we really needed them.”
JPR’s Misa Svoboda deserved an All-Heart award for his outstanding effort in a losing cause.
Besides Rumbaoa’s 30, Ivan Mendoza chipped in 17 points and Nathan Iskra had 13.
Miral Jr. was the top scorer for K and K with 27 points. Cabiso netted 26 and Junior Floride added 20.
Floride was named Finals MVP.
In the battle for third place, Whitehorse Subaru downed Whitehorse Kia 97-94.
Hudson Sias led Subaru with 24 points. Kaelan Basnett contributed 23, and Britonny Pagobo added 13.
Pier De Leon led Kia with 27 points. Evan Howells, with 23 and Miguel Portea, with 19, were the other top Kia scorers.
Season awards included Ivan Mendoza, Rookie of the Year, and Archie Boyd for scoring the most three-pointers.
The first and second Mythical Five (all-star) teams were as follows:
Mythical Five (5) selection:
1 Brittony Pagobo
2 Jeffries Rumbaoa
3 Miguel Portea
4 Isiah Cabiso
5 Pier De Leon
2nd mythical selection:
6 Junior Floride
7 Archie Boyd
8 Enrique Miral Jr.
9 Kerric Master
10 Ivan Mendoza
