Millrats Rally Ties Exhibition Series 1-1
November 20, 2008 - Premier Basketball League (PBL)
Saint John Riptide News Release
November 19, 2008 Manchester, NH: The Millrats welcomed the 2nd international team champion to New Hampshire this preseason, as the Capitanes Arecibo traveled this week from Puerto Rico to Manchester for two exhibition matches.
Arecibo captured the 2008 title this summer in the BSN - the professional basketball league in Puerto Rico. The Philippine league champions, the Sta Lucia Realtors, had come to Manchester back in September.
"It's a credit to our organization and our players that high level professional, championship caliber teams have sought out Manchester for international competition," explained Millrats GM, "we are proud to have close ties to the Realtors and now the Capitanes."
In the first match, Arecibo claimed a 92-81 victory on Tuesday evening. The Millrats started strong, leading 41-29 in the second quarter, but the blazing hot Capitanes scorched the nets in the second half and managed to pull away. Arecibo shot 55% from three point range for the game, and were led by Erick Rodriguez with 20 points.
On Wednesday evening, the Manchester Millrats again found themselves down double digits to Arecibo, as the Capitanes offense again ran like a well oiled machine. This time, the Millrats dug down deep and rallied, behind an energized crowd of supporters at the Sportszone. They clawed back from the 17 point second quarter deficit, and ultimately prevailed, 113-110 , in overtime.
"This was a great win for a young team against a very good veteran team. Our guys showed alot of character by never giving up and engineering the comeback," stated Millrats Head Coach Rob Spon. "Different guys stepped up in different areas at key times, and that was huge."
Manchester was led by Scott Hazelton's 23 points and 8 rebounds, PJ Young with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists, and Derek Coleman's 14 points and 7 assists. SNHU grad Sam Carey chipped in 10 points and 6 boards. For the Capitanes, David Cortez led all scorers with 25 points.
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