The reflexes may be slowed down, the vertical leap now just a mere hop, our ankles and knees creaking with each jump shot, our compromised endurance making it a struggle to sustain each fast break play – all these we can relate to, but nevertheless, our JSAG Seniors team players have all endured the test of time and we have shown time and again that we still have the “moves”. 

This year’s tandem was composed mostly of carry-overs from last year’s team.  Playing Coach Manny Sitson leads the cast of veterans composed of Al Sobredilla, Dennis Zulueta, Rey deGala, Obet Raymundo, Raul Caragay, newcomer Herbert Ho, Alex Cayetano , Greg Garcia , Ceasar Norte, Bong Dizon, and of course… yours truly! 

This year’s line-up could have been stronger were it not for the absence of starting point-guard Mandy Pagsanjan, the fastbreak king Dodong Morales, strong man Joel Pareyno and sharp-shooter Richard Odon, who all begged out this year for personal reasons. 

As fate (or ugly lady luck) would have it, our first game was against the defending champions from Kalahi-Central Jersey .  Kalahi was beefed-up by former PBA players Anthony Mendoza and Lenny Reyes as our team fell behind early on a lackadaisical start and never recovered from it.  Although Alex C. was able to play for us in this one game (his Juniors team did not have a game at that time), the absence of Mandy P. was sorely felt as we could not sustain an organized offense against a more cohesive team. 

We were now more than determined to make up for that loss for our second game against the team from Orlando , Florida .  An all-around performance by shooting forward Rey deGala and “yours truly” ignited the team to an early lead.  Of note was the emergence of Al Sobredilla as THE point-guard for that game.  Al was able to step-up his game play as he took over as our court general… and he did it with flair! 

As if inspired by divine providence, our offense suddenly clicked and became deadly while our defense clamped down to neutralize opposing team’s height advantage over us.  Obet Raymundo and playing coach Manny S. controlled the boards at will despite the dirty tactics thrown at us (flying elbows and all).

But Orlando was not willing to give up!  They rallied in the closing minutes to bring a 13 point lead down to 1.  Al Sobredilla was our hero for that night on a crucial fast break drive and later on, two foul shots made that sealed the fate of our opponents.  We eventually won the game by 4 points. 

As we moved on to the next day for our third game, we were pitted against Scarborough (a team from Canada ).  The game was nip-and-tuck for the whole first half and it looked like we were poised for another close match.  However, an amazing flurry of three-pointers by Scarborough ’s small men sealed the fate for us and we could not recover from that point on, despite a full-court man-to-man defense thrown at them. 

Over-all it was a good run by our Seniors team.  It was indeed inspiring to see a sizable crowd of JSAG fans cheering us on.  The camaraderie amongst us Seniors players was evident as we celebrated with our families at a dinner-out after we won the second game.

Here are some pics for your enjoyment:

Jump ball with DV Del Valle against Anthony Mendoza

Obet positioning for an under goal stab

Foul  shot attempt by Dennis Z; game against Orlando

Rey, Al and Dennis setting up for a rebound.  and DV Del Valle with a long-range jump shot!