25forlife
Basketball Club
Basketball Club
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AsianHoops.com / ABC Classic Tournament
Location: Ramapo, NJ
Result: Champions
Opponents in Finals: NY Rockits AIA
MVP: Adam Aglipay
We came back to avenge our semi-final loss in 2007 against DreamLeague East. The tournament
had some quality teams: NY Rockits AIA, Philly Suns, DreamLeague East. A slow start in the finals
had us playing catch-up for the most of the game. It came down to the final shot for the Rockits...
luckily they missed a wide open three-pointer.
Fil-Act League
Location: Toronto, ON
Result: Champions
Opponent in Finals: Red Barons
MVP: JP Albano
Another match-up with the Red Barons (who represent Toronto in the PIBNA tournament) in the
Finals of Fil-Act. We stormed out to an early lead in the first half, only to see the lead dwindle to
single digits in the second half. Big games by JP Albano and AJ Serjue helped seal another Fil-Act
championship (our seventh since 2000).
CCYAA Identify Yourself Tournament
Location: Toronto, ON
Result: Champions
Opponent in Finals: Windsor Warriors
MVP: JP Albano
This was a good local tournament filled with decent teams: Windsor Warriors, CCYAA Toronto
Seniors (2008 NACBAIT Champs), Toronto Dragons, Toronto Kagers, Toronto Khalsa (Indo-Pak).
There were a couple tall Indo-Pak teams that we were matched up with, as well as some hard-
nosed Chinese squads. Our toughest game was against former Chinese Professional Richard
Zhu and his team in the semis. The Windsor Warriors were pretty tired by the time they faced us in
the finals, and we won by a significant margin. JP Albano shot the lights out and held Windsor's
Leng Yeang in check.
PhilCan League
Location: Toronto, ON
Result: Champions
Opponent in Finals: Toronto Kagers
MVP: Philip Aglipay
In the finals, the Kagers guard duo of Eric Liao and Don Pow played incredibly against us. It
seemed like everything they shot went in. However, we were able to hold them off for another
league championship - the team's seventh PhilCan championship since 1999. Philip Aglipay
picked up MVP for his work throughout the playoffs.
FABA of DC Metro Philippine Independence Day Invitational
Location: Washington, DC
Result: Champions
Opponent in Finals: FABA of DC Metro
MVP: James Forrester
We had a good time at this tournament. We finally had a chance to play against the Quietstorm
crew out of Virginia Beach and discovered a strong team out of Gaithersburg, MD. The Brooks
brothers can ball! We suffered our first loss of the year against the young-yet-disciplined crew from
FABA. We avenged our loss to the in the finals and won the championship. James Forrester was
the tournament MVP for his strong play.
Unity Cup Invitational
Location: Toronto, ON
Result: Champions
Opponent in Finals: Toronto Kagers
MVP: AJ Serjue
Our first ever Unity Cup, we had the daunting task of competing and running the tournament. It
went very well, with good teams like Toronto Dragons, Toronto Kagers and Chicago Rambonews
(ranked #10 on AsianBallers.net at the time) in the field. Even our good friends at FABA of DC Metro
made it up to compete. We ended up beating the Toronto Kagers in the finals, with AJ Serjue
having a great game and taking home MVP.
Motown Throwdown
Location: Pontiac, MI
Result: Champions
Opponent in Finals: O-State
MVP: Dean Labayen
The team welcomed 25 for Life veteran Dean Labayen back into the fold this tournament. It was
our first cash tournament ever and we were eager to show some Midwest ballers what we were all
about. We faced the AsianBallers.net #1 ranked player Xiro Navaulath, #20 Alex Lee and their
Northsiderz / 2Faded team in the semis and came out on top. A last minute block by James
Forrester helped preserve our two-point lead and erase the 17-5 deficit we had in the first half. It
was a $2,000 block! MVP honours went to Dean Labayen for his inspired play.
FBA-NA
Location: Winnipeg, MB
Result: Finalists
Opponent in Finals: Winnipeg (Lipenos)
MVP: Prince Cayetano (Winnipeg)
The tournament couldn't have started any worse, as Dean Labayen and Mike Semira were injured
and out of the tournament before the final buzzer of THE FIRST GAME. With the team's two best
defenders out of commission, it was up to the rest of the team to step up as a unit. We blew out
Winnipeg in our semi-final match-up on the first day, wiping them off the court with a 17pt win (it
was called with 1:47 left in the game due to tempers flaring up). The Final on Sunday was a
different story, as over 1,000 Lipenos supporters came out to support. We couldn't survive another
slow start (we were down 24-12 at half) and ran out of time to complete our frantic comeback.
We're never going to forget the feeling of Winnipeg hoisting their FBA trophy and hope to use that to
fuel us for the next year or two.
AsianBallers.net National Championship (Sponsored by Maximum Output)
Location: New York, NY
Result: Loss in the Quarterfinals (Opponents: Team United (LOSS), TLC (LOSS), NY Fury (WIN),
NY Top Guns (LOSS))
MVP: Nic Echeverstre (Dreamleague All-Stars)
By far our worst tournament performance of the year, we were placed in a pool with Team United
(VA) and TLC (NY/NJ). After losing by six points to Team United, we lost an OT thriller to TLC by 3
points for our first back-to-back losses of the year. Our games were in the Baruch College Auxiliary
Gym, which is more like an elementary school gym than highschool. Our lack of size was clearly
evident when we were matched up against these teams, as the court was too crammed for us to
get out and run. We dispensed of the #5 seed NY Fury in our First Round playoff game in the Main
Gym, setting up a match-up with NY Top Guns on Sunday. Unfortunately, our poor performance in
the Aux Gym continued the next day, and we literally handed Top Guns the game with a careless
foul with 12 seconds left in the game. We lost by one point and that ended our aspirations to end
the 2008 on a winning note. It seemed like we were struggling to establish a rhythm all tournament
long and it we just couldn’t fight off the inevitable. The result was a bump down 10 spots to #17 in
the AsianBallers.net National Rankings. I guess we have our work cut out for us next year.
MPAA (Fall Classic)
Location: Mississauga, ON
Result: LEAGUE CHAMPIONS (7-1 record in regular season, 3-0 record in the playoffs)
Opponent in Finals: The Saints
MVP: Adam Aglipay
We avenged our lone loss in MPAA this season by dismantling the ‘juggernaut’ known as The
Saints. The Saints went undefeated the entire season, reeling off eight straight wins in the regular
season and two easy wins in the playoffs. I have no doubt that Ali Nizam and Company were ready
to pop champagne to celebrate their first championship at our expense. Unfortunately for them,
that was not the case as we turned the defensive intensity up a notch and handcuffed their offense
the entire game. Congrats to our court general Adam Aglipay for winning MVP honours – a
testament to his strong play throughout the season.
Location: Ramapo, NJ
Result: Champions
Opponents in Finals: NY Rockits AIA
MVP: Adam Aglipay
We came back to avenge our semi-final loss in 2007 against DreamLeague East. The tournament
had some quality teams: NY Rockits AIA, Philly Suns, DreamLeague East. A slow start in the finals
had us playing catch-up for the most of the game. It came down to the final shot for the Rockits...
luckily they missed a wide open three-pointer.
Fil-Act League
Location: Toronto, ON
Result: Champions
Opponent in Finals: Red Barons
MVP: JP Albano
Another match-up with the Red Barons (who represent Toronto in the PIBNA tournament) in the
Finals of Fil-Act. We stormed out to an early lead in the first half, only to see the lead dwindle to
single digits in the second half. Big games by JP Albano and AJ Serjue helped seal another Fil-Act
championship (our seventh since 2000).
CCYAA Identify Yourself Tournament
Location: Toronto, ON
Result: Champions
Opponent in Finals: Windsor Warriors
MVP: JP Albano
This was a good local tournament filled with decent teams: Windsor Warriors, CCYAA Toronto
Seniors (2008 NACBAIT Champs), Toronto Dragons, Toronto Kagers, Toronto Khalsa (Indo-Pak).
There were a couple tall Indo-Pak teams that we were matched up with, as well as some hard-
nosed Chinese squads. Our toughest game was against former Chinese Professional Richard
Zhu and his team in the semis. The Windsor Warriors were pretty tired by the time they faced us in
the finals, and we won by a significant margin. JP Albano shot the lights out and held Windsor's
Leng Yeang in check.
PhilCan League
Location: Toronto, ON
Result: Champions
Opponent in Finals: Toronto Kagers
MVP: Philip Aglipay
In the finals, the Kagers guard duo of Eric Liao and Don Pow played incredibly against us. It
seemed like everything they shot went in. However, we were able to hold them off for another
league championship - the team's seventh PhilCan championship since 1999. Philip Aglipay
picked up MVP for his work throughout the playoffs.
FABA of DC Metro Philippine Independence Day Invitational
Location: Washington, DC
Result: Champions
Opponent in Finals: FABA of DC Metro
MVP: James Forrester
We had a good time at this tournament. We finally had a chance to play against the Quietstorm
crew out of Virginia Beach and discovered a strong team out of Gaithersburg, MD. The Brooks
brothers can ball! We suffered our first loss of the year against the young-yet-disciplined crew from
FABA. We avenged our loss to the in the finals and won the championship. James Forrester was
the tournament MVP for his strong play.
Unity Cup Invitational
Location: Toronto, ON
Result: Champions
Opponent in Finals: Toronto Kagers
MVP: AJ Serjue
Our first ever Unity Cup, we had the daunting task of competing and running the tournament. It
went very well, with good teams like Toronto Dragons, Toronto Kagers and Chicago Rambonews
(ranked #10 on AsianBallers.net at the time) in the field. Even our good friends at FABA of DC Metro
made it up to compete. We ended up beating the Toronto Kagers in the finals, with AJ Serjue
having a great game and taking home MVP.
Motown Throwdown
Location: Pontiac, MI
Result: Champions
Opponent in Finals: O-State
MVP: Dean Labayen
The team welcomed 25 for Life veteran Dean Labayen back into the fold this tournament. It was
our first cash tournament ever and we were eager to show some Midwest ballers what we were all
about. We faced the AsianBallers.net #1 ranked player Xiro Navaulath, #20 Alex Lee and their
Northsiderz / 2Faded team in the semis and came out on top. A last minute block by James
Forrester helped preserve our two-point lead and erase the 17-5 deficit we had in the first half. It
was a $2,000 block! MVP honours went to Dean Labayen for his inspired play.
FBA-NA
Location: Winnipeg, MB
Result: Finalists
Opponent in Finals: Winnipeg (Lipenos)
MVP: Prince Cayetano (Winnipeg)
The tournament couldn't have started any worse, as Dean Labayen and Mike Semira were injured
and out of the tournament before the final buzzer of THE FIRST GAME. With the team's two best
defenders out of commission, it was up to the rest of the team to step up as a unit. We blew out
Winnipeg in our semi-final match-up on the first day, wiping them off the court with a 17pt win (it
was called with 1:47 left in the game due to tempers flaring up). The Final on Sunday was a
different story, as over 1,000 Lipenos supporters came out to support. We couldn't survive another
slow start (we were down 24-12 at half) and ran out of time to complete our frantic comeback.
We're never going to forget the feeling of Winnipeg hoisting their FBA trophy and hope to use that to
fuel us for the next year or two.
AsianBallers.net National Championship (Sponsored by Maximum Output)
Location: New York, NY
Result: Loss in the Quarterfinals (Opponents: Team United (LOSS), TLC (LOSS), NY Fury (WIN),
NY Top Guns (LOSS))
MVP: Nic Echeverstre (Dreamleague All-Stars)
By far our worst tournament performance of the year, we were placed in a pool with Team United
(VA) and TLC (NY/NJ). After losing by six points to Team United, we lost an OT thriller to TLC by 3
points for our first back-to-back losses of the year. Our games were in the Baruch College Auxiliary
Gym, which is more like an elementary school gym than highschool. Our lack of size was clearly
evident when we were matched up against these teams, as the court was too crammed for us to
get out and run. We dispensed of the #5 seed NY Fury in our First Round playoff game in the Main
Gym, setting up a match-up with NY Top Guns on Sunday. Unfortunately, our poor performance in
the Aux Gym continued the next day, and we literally handed Top Guns the game with a careless
foul with 12 seconds left in the game. We lost by one point and that ended our aspirations to end
the 2008 on a winning note. It seemed like we were struggling to establish a rhythm all tournament
long and it we just couldn’t fight off the inevitable. The result was a bump down 10 spots to #17 in
the AsianBallers.net National Rankings. I guess we have our work cut out for us next year.
MPAA (Fall Classic)
Location: Mississauga, ON
Result: LEAGUE CHAMPIONS (7-1 record in regular season, 3-0 record in the playoffs)
Opponent in Finals: The Saints
MVP: Adam Aglipay
We avenged our lone loss in MPAA this season by dismantling the ‘juggernaut’ known as The
Saints. The Saints went undefeated the entire season, reeling off eight straight wins in the regular
season and two easy wins in the playoffs. I have no doubt that Ali Nizam and Company were ready
to pop champagne to celebrate their first championship at our expense. Unfortunately for them,
that was not the case as we turned the defensive intensity up a notch and handcuffed their offense
the entire game. Congrats to our court general Adam Aglipay for winning MVP honours – a
testament to his strong play throughout the season.
2008 Wrap Up