Contenders 4x4 Wheelers and Islanders continued their winning ways after beating separate rivals, Wednesday night in the ongoing 2012 season of the IP&E National Basketball League (NBL) at the Palau National gym.

Team 4x4 Wheelers held on to beat a young and tough Nationals 17 and Under squad, 77-73. After taking a 57-56 lead in the third canto, 4x4 Wheelers showed their experienced as they outscored the Nationals with a 20-17 output to score the win.

Temol Malsol tallied 29 points as 4x4 Wheelers now sport an 8-3 win-loss record in the team standings while Marvic Ngchar topscored for the Nationals with 18 as they slipped to 4-8.

On the other hand, team Islanders showed dominance as they went on to beat Melengoes, 76-74. The game was so intense that three players form team Islanders were their top scorers. John Stills, Frankie Kuchad and Chris Carlos all finished with 13 points, respectively as they led the Islanders to a 5-7 tally while Perry Oiterong clamped down 33 points for Melengoes as they sacked at the bottom of the team standings with a 1-11 count.

In other games, Mercury Optimax bested Meda, 61-58; Peched Raw won over Islanders, 72-66; Aqua Smooth defeated Melengoes, 76-64; and Nationals 17 and Under beat Kabong, 71-68.

Games resume tonight with Kabong versus Islanders at 6 p.m. followed by the 4x4 Wheelers-Spoilers match at 7:30 p.m. as Melengoes will face Peched Raw in the main game at 9 p.m.

Monday night games will have Spoilers against Mercury Optimax at 7:30 p.m. while Kabong will be pitted against Aqua Smooth at 9 p.m.

The tournament, which is supervised by the Palau Basketball Federation (PBF), is a tobacco, alcohol and drug free program. Any violators will be banned from participating. For more information call Topps at 488-4491.  By Peter Erick L. Magbanua (Island Times News)