Alec Astorga

20 March 2017

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During this winter sports season, The Philippine Cultural Society fielded an intramural basketball team that competed valiantly in the Co-Ed division under the name PCS Gilas, in honor of the actual Philippine national basketball team, SMART Gilas. The team played a total of 5 regular season games. Here’s a quick recap for each of them:

Game 1 vs. SIR

PCS Gilas came out on top of this one, 15-12. It was a very scrappy game on both sides with a lot of fouls and a lot of turnovers.  But some clutch free throw shooting from Ino Acosta and an explosive performance from Grant Francisco helped Gilas come away with a win. Special mention should also be made of Kelsey Genuino and Savannah Gabriel’s efforts as they were forced to play the entire game due to league rules requiring two girls to be on the court at all times.  Freshman Gabe Galvez also put in a terrific effort in his first outing.

Game 2 vs. Medical School

Gilas got beat pretty soundly in this one, 48-20. Dynamic 3 point shooting from Trent Nayve and Patrick Nahhas were able to get Gilas within 14 points, but the opposition pulled away late. Julie Curry, Alexis Curry, and Monica Rigucci all played very well in their debuts. Genuino scored a big basket to start the game, a real highlight of the contest for Gilas.

Game 3 vs. #SWAG

Gilas came away with a hard-fought 23-16 win. A strong defensive effort from Acosta, Nahhas, Julie Curry and Alec Astorga helped to shut down the opposing offense down the stretch. Gilas’ offense was boosted by the shooting of Alexis Curry who hit a couple threes and some free throws in the late stages of the game. Francisco again put in another strong offensive performance which proved crucial in ensuring a close win.

Game 4 vs. Ecumenical Elephants

Gilas partook in their closest, most nail-biting game of the season here, winning 32-30 in a very high scoring affair.  Koji Alguacil led the way offensively to begin the game, and Patrick Nordstrom and Aaron Patron performed very down low and in the post in lieu of big man Oak Tesfaye’s absence. Acosta, Francisco and Nahhas again hit clutch shots down the stretch and contested a possible buzzer beater from the opponents to help make sure Gilas came out on top. Julie and Alexis Curry both had very active nights, playing the entire game against #SWAG and a lot of this game until Rigucci checked in. An all around amazing effort from Gilas in these two contests!

Game 5 vs. SIR

PCS Gilas closed out the regular season with a 28-21 win in a rematch of the first game of the season.  Francisco, Alguacil, and Nahhas were all explosive on offense. Alexis Curry again was able to hit some clutch free throws at the end of the game to see out a victory. Julie Curry played a remarkable game defensively, shutting down the opposing captain and out-rebounding the opposing center. An injury to Genuino also helped display team unity when facing adversity.  Matthew Mercado also hit a big-time 3-pointer with 2 minutes left in the game that proved to be the dagger that all but ensured a Gilas Win.

After a 4 Wins-1 Loss tally to end the regular season, Gilas was drawn into the A-League Bracket, against top competition, instead of the more fitting B-Bracket due to a lack of teams in the A division. Since Gilas had the best record of B teams, they were bumped up a division.

Playoff Game vs. Walking Buckets

Gilas lost this one big 41-6. The team was just flat out out classed by the eventual champions, who had a lot of high-end talent on their team. Francisco and Astorga provided Gilas with scoring, and Patron, David Nguyen, Nahhas, and Acosta gave the team valiant defense. Good efforts were shown by the Curry’s and Gabriel, but all of that was not enough against such a powerful opponent.

All in all the season was definitely a success.The team showed that they had lots of heart and talent. Gilas was able to win games in many different ways, showing the athletic diversity on this team. They could beat you in a tight, defensive scrappy game, and they can beat you in a high-flying, high-scoring shootout. If there’s one thing to take a way other than the fun and the memories it’s that PCS can ball!

Roster:

Alec Astorga

Ino Acosta

Patrick Nahhas

Kelsey Genuino

Savannah Gabriel

Monica Rigucci

Grant Francisco

Koji Alguacil

Julie Curry

Alexis Curry

Aaron Patron

Patrick Nordstrom

Henok Tesfaye

Matt Mercado

Gabe Galvez

Trent Nayve

David Nguyen

Rafael Colon

Kendrick Chang

Gabriel Papadatos

PCS is also competing in the GW Intramural indoor soccer Champions League under the name Azkals, again in honor of the Philippine national team. The team is currently 2-0 and closes out the regular season in April.