Tropics Have Won Nine Of 10 After Beating Palm Beach 110-103
December 22, 2006 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Miami Tropics News Release
Guard Carlos Escalera and forward Terence Shelman, relatively quiet for most of the game, erupted in the fourth quarter to lead the ABA's Miami Tropics to a 110-103 victory over the host Palm Beach Imperials on Thursday night.
Escalera, the Tropics' leading scorer, had 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. He started to heat up with about 5 minutes left in the game, draining a three-pointer, scoring a three-point play and adding another jumper.
Shelman, the Tropics' top all-around talent, scored the Tropics' final 6 points to silence Palm Beach. He ran the court on a fast break and hit an athletic reverse layup with 2 minutes left. He then added a putback, and he capped his one-man run by scoring in the lane.
"It was a sloppy game, but we are happy to come out with the win," Tropics Coach Ed Auricchio said. "We were able to take advantage of our size inside."
The Tropics improved to 9-3 and now own a 3-1 series edge over every team in the state. Palm Beach fell to 4-8 and now has lost three straight to the Tropics.
In an interesting trend, the Tropics are 4-0 on the road as compared to 5-3 at home.
Wednesday was no different as the Tropics flaunted their depth by using all 11 of their players in the first quarter and taking a 22-19 lead. The Tropics stretched their lead to 48-44 at halftime.
But the hot-shooting Imperials rallied to take a 76-73 lead after three quarters. It was the only quarter of the game that the Tropics did not win.
The Tropics, though, got back on track in the fourth quarter.
"It was a team effort," Tropics owner Art "Pilin" Alvarez said. "We had 7 players score in double figures, and we had two rebound in double figures. That's the formula we've used to win 9 of our last 10 games - balance."
Center Karel Rosario, a backup until breaking in to the starting lineup three games ago, scored 18 points and made 9 of 14 shots. Since becoming a starter, he is averaging 19.3 points per game.
Shelman, who made 8 of 14 shots, also got help inside from Sylbrin Robinson, who had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. Robinson made 5 of 7 shots.
The totals for the Tropics' starting frontcourt were impressive - 50 points on 22 of 35 shots (a sizzling 63 percent),
The Tropics guards also had their moments. Besides Escalera, Ray Rose and Marcus Barnes had 11 points each and Pachi Cruz added 10. Escalera made 6 of 13 shots, but was hot when it mattered, converting on 5 of 7 in the second half.
Next up for the Tropics is the Christmas break and then a return visit to Palm Beach on Dec. 27.
Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.
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