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Well, this year we found a sponsor for our team and we are going to be called the IGUANA CAFÉ. Our team would personally like to thank them for their sponsorship of us this upcoming season!!

This page will be updated frequently relating to our upcoming

2001 NYAABL season!

IGUANA CAFÉ - 59

CORPUS EQUITY - 48

It's a new season and a new team this year for the Iguana Café (formerly Brahma Bulls). They have reloaded and have become legitimate contenders for the NYAABL championship this year. While returning the core of last year's team, the have also added more size and depth up front, while picking up a free agent guard from Philadelphia.

They have added Patrick Pilar (formerly SIPAG), Anthony David, Ronnie Villalobos, Jay Washington and last year's leading scorer from Philly's FACAA league, Mike Domingo. These new additions made their presence felt in yesterday's game.

Iguana Café's first opponent of the season was Corpus Equity led by the David brothers, Julius, Jayson and Jay. They decimated our team last year, beating us by 70 points! Iguana Café vowed to avenge last year's defeat.

The game started off slow for both teams because of opening day jitters. The first points weren't scored until about the 16 minute mark of the first half on a fast break layup by Julius David. Pat Pilar finally got Iguana Café on the scoreboard with a rebound and putback and the scoring finally began. Both teams had a bad shooting first half with the halftime score only 18-15 in favor of Iguana. The David brothers shooting was off today, normally they are about 40% from outside the arc but they had trouble with the 3-2 defense employed by Iguana with 6'3" Pat Pilar clogging up the middle of the zone. His height and wingspan prevented Corpus Equity from getting the shots they wanted from the top of the key.

The second half started with Iguana café using their superior size in the frontcourt helping them control the boards. Coach Dean Duran's rotation of Pat Pilar, Ronnie Villalobos, Joel Capili, Anthony David and Vin Wu was seemingly grabbing every miss by Corpus Equity. Jason Villaverde (recovering from last year's season ending ACL surgery) provided a lift off the bench by playing solid D. With about 9 mins. left in the game, Iguana was leading 36-35 and Corpus Equity went to a press to try and rattle them. Coming off a timeout Iguana went on a 7-0 run when John Magalong nailed a three, Pat Pilar scored off a nifty pass from Ronnie Villalobos and was fouled. He missed the ensuing free throw but Villalobos picked up the rebound and converted it to complete the run. Corpus Equity made it close again down the stretch with some timely three point shooting, but their press was ineffective as Magalong and Co. made the right passes and always found the open man for the easy bucket. With Corpus Equity trying to foul to get back in the game, Mike Domingo got free and scored with a beautiful left-handed layup down the middle to secure victory for Iguana Café.

J. Magalong 13, P. Pilar 20, J. Villaverde 2, M. Domingo 3, V. Wu 8, J. Capili 5, R. Villalobos 4, A. David 4

Jay David 21, D. Reyes 11, Julius David 8, Jason David 7, E. Soriano 2

IGUANA CAFÉ - 49

NU-FOCUS / ESCORZON CONSULTANTS - 37

Game two of the NYAABL season for Iguana Café wasn't going to be an easy game. Nu-Focus won their first game by 15 and were called by the Filipino Reporter "a force to be reckoned with".

Early on, Nu-Focus played with more energy and fervor than Iguana causing numerous turnovers on Iguana's first few possessions of the game and jumped out to a quick 10-6 lead. It was here that the momentum changed in the game. Another turnover by Iguana led to a two-on-none fast break for Nu-Focus. They tried to showboat with an off the backboard dunk…and missed. John Magalong quickly secured the rebound and ran the offense until he found Mike Domingo open on the wing. The free agent pickup from Philly calmly sank the three to cut the Nu-Focus lead to one.

Iguana stopped them on their next possession and in the same identical play Magalong found Domingo open in the corner again for another three to get Iguana in the lead and fired up. Iguana went once again to their 3-2 defense which confused Nu-Focus. Their guards could not throw the entry pass down low because 6'3" Pat Pilar was up in the middle of the zone. If they were able to make the entry pass, Anthony David and Joel Capili were immovable objects down low to deny post position.

Pat Pilar started to assert himself also in the first half by blowing by Jeff Valeriano to get to the foul line. Once Domingo hit his third three to end the half, Iguana had a 23-18 halftime lead. Coach Duran told his team that they were playing bad but they still had the lead. They needed to take better care of the ball and execute on offense.

The second half started with Iguana going to Pat Pilar on offense and he hit a couple of jumpers and drives to keep them in the lead. Nu-Focus went to a man press to try and rattle Iguana but with John Magalong's veteran leadership at the point, their press was useless. After the teams traded baskets, Nu-Focus went to a 2-3 zone to try and confuse Iguana. It proved futile as Magalong nailed a 3 from the wing to increase Iguana's lead to 10 at 37-27. Nu-Focus tried to get back into the game but it was Joel Capili and Anthony David who led Iguana's defense by seemingly grabbing every rebound down the stretch for Iguana. With 3 secs. left, Pilar put the stamp on the victory by throwing down an emphatic two-handed dunk that set the gym into a frenzy. After the game, a couple of players from Iguana pointed to the showboating in the first half by Nu-Focus which fired them up for the rest of the game.

M. Domingo 18, P. Pilar 13, J. Magalong 10, J. Capili 6, A. David 1

O. Verzosa 13, S. Wonge 9, J. Valeriano 4, V. Oyanguren, M. Passion 3, J. Mijaro 2, C. Fernandez 2

IGUANA CAFÉ - 57

SAINTS - 54

It's SHOWTIME!!! Game three of the NYAABL season pitted the unbeaten team of Iguana Café against the veteran team of the Saints. The Saints are composed of veteran SIPAG players who have won this tournament numerous times. The Saints are led by the Albano brothers (Chris & Paul), the Grospe brothers (Jerry & Ed), and have two talented guards in Evan Brion and Mike Sala. Iguana also pulled out their "big gun" for the game as Jay Washington made his first appearance for Iguana after finishing out his college basketball season for Queens College. He led Queens in scoring and rebounding this year and will be another force teams will have to look to stop in coming games.

Washing ton made his presence felt early in the game when Pat Pilar stole the ball and fed Washington on a rim-rocking alley-oop on the ensuing break that sent a message to the Saints: WE AREN'T AFRAID AND ARE GOING TO COME RIGHT AT YOU!

The Saints are a veteran team and showed Iguana why they have won this tournament time and time again. The shooting of Chris Albano and the hustle of Ed Grospe and Evan Brion allowed the Saints to open up a 8 point lead. Brion's constant pressure on the guards along with Coach Duran's inability to make timely substitutions allowed the Saints to take a 27-21 lead into the half.

During the break, Iguana decided that the only way that they were going to lose this game was as a TEAM and that it would take a total team effort to win the game. When Iguana came out for the second half, they were a new team. They were moving their feet on defense, contesting shots, cause numerous turnovers and Washington started to score at will inside against the smaller Saints. He scored on fast breaks and also on a dazzling array of inside moves that make the Saints look helpless. He also had 5 blocks in the game as he made himself known as a defensive presence. The Saints however, kept hitting big shots to keep themselves in the lead and with 4 mins. left in the game, the Saints held a 49-45 lead.

Washington still looked unstoppable as he kept imposing himself against the Saints defense and eventually Iguana took the lead 56-54 on his two free throw with about a minute left in the game. The Saints worked the ball around the perimeter till C. Albano got an open look from the wing. He missed and John Magalong secured the rebound and was fouled. He went to the line and calmly hit the first one to extend Iguana's lead to 3. He missed the second one while Ed Grospe secured the rebound and called the final timeout for the Saints with 4 secs. remaining in the game.

The Saints called their play and inbounded the ball. Sala quickly pushed the ball upcourt and found Albano again open on the wing. He caught the ball and launched a three with Pilar flying right at him. The ball looked good on the release but it bounced harmlessly off the rim to give Iguana the 57-54 victory.

Iguana Café now stands at 3-0 and hopes that this victory solidifies them as legitimate title contenders.

J. Washington 39, P. Pilar 12, V. Wu 4, J. Magalong 2

C. Albano 15, E. Brion 14, E. Grospe 9, J. Bregendahl 5, P. Albano 4,

M. Alcantara 4, J. Grospe 3

IGUANA CAFÉ - 60

MOONRAKERS - 45

Iguana came into this came undefeated after last week's emotional win over the Saints. Coach Duran warned them not to suffer a let down or to look ahead to next week's showdown with tournament host SIPAG.

Early in the game, Iguana showed no signs of letting up with some crisp ball movement and another rim-rocking dunk by Jay Washington that actually moved the whole backboard! Led by Mike Domingo's hot shooting and Pat Pilar's inside presence, they were up 14-7 and threatened to pull away from the Moonrakers. However, Domingo quickly picked up his FOURTH foul (???) and had to be taken out of the game. It was here that the Moonrakers came back behind the inspired play of newly acquired point guard Dino DeGuzman. He led a run that had the Moonrakers down by one at the half, 22-21.

At halftime, Coach Duran and the team talked about how poorly that they had played in the first half. He also said that they needed to improve their defensive efforts too.

The second half started with a different mindset for Iguana. They started hustling on defense, moving their feet and causing numerous turnovers to build and held a 36-23 lead after a fast break layup by John Magalong. The Moonrakers wouldn't be denied however, as they fought back to close the lead to 43-37 and it looked like Iguana was on their heels again. Coach Duran called timeout and scolded the team for not playing up to their potential, but rather playing down to the Moonrakers potential. Iguana quickly responded.

Tonio Magalong nailed a three from the wing, Ronnie Villalobos scored on a layup and seconds later Joel Capili followed with another three from the wing to stretch the lead back up to double digits. Washington followed with a dunk on Marco Palacios that got Iguana bench up in a frenzy. After an intentional foul on Washington, he nailed both free throws to and Anthony David followed with a layup on the ensuing possession to put the game out of reach. Domingo was re-inserted back into the game and he canned another three form the wing to ice the game as Iguana closed with a 17-6 run to secure their fourth victory and run their record to a perfect 4-0.

J. Washington 23, P. Pilar 14, M. Domingo 8, J. Capili 6, T. Magalong 3,

R. Villalobos 2, J. Magalong 2, A. David 2

STATS NOT AVAILABLE

IGUANA CAFÉ - 43

SIPAG - 70

The SHOWDOWN II. The gym was packed on this Sunday afternoon to watch the undefeated Iguana Café take on the tournament hosts SIPAG. Sipag was coming off a 72-61 defeat at the hands of Avel Autoworks and were looking to make some noise.

Champ Albano came out early and hit 2 early threes to give Sipag a lead they would never relinquish. They jumped out to the early 11-2 lead and kept the pressure on throughout the first half. Iguana made a little run to close the gap but their defense wasn’t up to par. They continually were beat by not moving on defense and SIPAG found the open man for the open jumper or the easy layup. It was clear to eeryone that only one team had shown up to play today. At the half the score was 27-19 SIPAG.

The second half was more of the same. The defense shown by Iguana in their first four games wasn’t there as SIPAG was continually beating them with crisp passing and playmaking. Iguana was clearly outclassed and was limited to one shot and out possessions. Miguel Noble responded by hitting a couple of threes as well as an array of jumpers which effectively put the game away for SIPAG. Iguana just couldn't match the intensity shown against them. When the final horn sounded, Iguana's undefeated record had come to an end with a resounding thud as they were dealt a 24 point loss by the tournament hosts.

P. Pilar 19, J. Magalong 9, J. Villaverde 5, J. Washington 5, J. Capili 5,

M. Domingo 4

STATS NOT AVAILABLE

IGUANA CAFÉ - 75

HAMMERS - 46

Iguana came into this game looking to avenge their defeat last week at the hands of SIPAG. They were missing many key players for this game however. Jay Washington, Anthony David, Ronnie Villalobos, J.P. Eclerio, Vin Wu and Tonio Magalong were all missing fom this game due to prior commitments. This left Iguana with only 6 players for the game.

The Hammers started out aggressive by hitting their first two threes and tying up the league leaders early on at 6-6. With Coach Duran telling his team to "play basketball" Iguana started to assert itself inside with Pat Pilar. He continuously scored inside and was fouled on his way to 19 points in the first half. Joel Capili also answered the call by playing solid defense and grabbing numerous rebounds. The first half also saw the first action of the season for Coach Dean Duran who scored on a fast break layup for his first points of the season. At the half the score was 32-19 Iguana.

During the halftime huddle, Iguana was told that they could do much better because of the lethargic basketball that they had been playing the past couple of weeks.

When the second half began, John Magalong led the charge. He started hustling on defense, caused numerous turnovers and hit some jumpers to jump start the team. Jay Villaverde recovered from a first half injury to score on numerous tip-ins over the smaller Hammers and Capili started to assert himself more down low. Mike Domingo hit a couple of jumpers to get into the scoring flow as well. Iguana started to play like a first place team and started scoring at will against the smaller Hammers and wore them out down the stretch as the pulled away. When the final horn sounded, Iguana had locked up their 5^th victory of the season and had a solid lock on first place in the league.

P. Pilar 25, J. Magalong 19, J. Capili 14, J. Villaverde 9, D. Duran 5,

M. Domingo 3

STATS NOT AVAILABLE

IGUANA CAFÉ - 45

KAPATIRAN - 82

After a two-week layoff, the NYAABL resumed action today with Iguana Café playing Kapatiran. Kapatiran was hungry because a loss for them meant missing the playoffs. Iguana was shorthanded again as key members of the team could not attend the game because of prior commitments.

The game started off with Kapatiran coming out focused and hungry for victory. They started aggressively and jumped to a quick 11 point lead on the league leaders. Iguana answered with a run of their own, led by Pat Pilar (game high 27 points) to close the gap to 6. With the momentum looking to swing Iguana's way, Chris Gavina hit a 3 just before the halftime buzzer to extend Kapatiran's lead to 10, 37-27.

When the second half started, Pat Pilar once again lead the charge that cut the Kapatiran lead to 6. Kapatiran started substituting at will against the shorthanded Iguana Café squad and started to pull away. They seemingly hit every three they shot in the second half to pull away from Iguana.

Iguana just couldn't keep up and with Kapatiran seemingly making every shot, their comeback was futile. When the smoke had cleared on the second half, Kapatiran had dealt the league leaders their second loss of the season.

P. Pilar 27, J. Magalong 7, J. Capili 4, J. Villaverde 9, J.P. Eclerio 4,

D. Duran 3

C. Gavina 17, N. Roa 15, E. Andres 14, B. Reyes 8, R. Casino 8, M. Tupaz 7,

R. Oliver 3, M. Doydora 2

IGUANA CAFÉ - 86

AVEL AUTOWORKS - 74

Iguana came into this game looking to avenge their defeat last week at the hands of Kapatiran. Jay Washington returned from missing last week's game to help out with Pat Pilar on the scoring and rebounding end.

Iguana started off looking lethargic as they quickly jumped out to an 8 point lead and watched as Avel got themselves back into the game. Avel went on an 8-0 run to take an 18-14 lead with about 9 mins left in the first half. With Coach Duran ready to call a timeout to rally the troops, John Magalong came up with a steal and feed Washington for a layup that jumpstarted a 12-0 run for Iguana. The run featured a couple of alley-oop dunks for Washington and Pilar, a couple of threes by Mike Domingo and Magalong as well as a couple of jumpers from Joel Capili. Things started to click on offense for Iguana as their offensive flow led them to a 52-36 halftime lead.

Beginningt he second half, Iguana started to assert themselves more on the offensive end. With about 10 mins left in the game, Iguana wa sup 20 and seemingly on their way to another victory. Coach Duran was able to empty his bench and the closest Avel got was 12 at the final buzzer. When the horn had sounded Iguana had secured their 6^th v

With one game left in the season, Iguana is looking for a victory as they look to lock up the number one seed for the upcoming playoffs.

J. Washington 33, J. Capili 15, P. Pilar 13, J. Magalong 12, M. Domingo 8,

J. Villaverde 3, J.P. Eclerio 2

STATS NOT AVAILABLE