Surangel Kings halted the Medalaii Meda Boyz, 68-64 Wednesday night at the start of the Playoff round of the IP&E Amateur Basketball League (ABL) at the Palau National gym.

It was a close match with the Kings taking an 18-13 lead at the opening quarter and then outscored Meda Boyz in the second with a 13-11 output to take a 31-24 advantage in the first half of play.

The Kings would then show consistency in the second half as they stood their ground giving the win in Game One of their best of Three series. Despite Arnold Undecimo being limited to two points, the rest of the Kings shouldered the scoring chores with Nico Hinoza finishing the game with 15 while Reid Una Rikrik and Adam McQuistan chipped in 14 and 11, respectively.

On the other hand, RB Dorado once again carried the load for the Meda Boyz as he normed 29 baskets while teammate Cody Rorer clipped 12 on the losing end.

Game Tow of their series will be on February 10 at 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, Ngermid Rivals, which is seeded number 2 in Pool A, went on a scoring spree as they drubbed PCC Mesekiu, 125-92 in Game One of their own series. It was all Rivals all game long as they established a 29-19 lead in the first and then spurted a 31-18 in the second to close the first half with a 60-37 lead.

From there, the Rivals scored at will and went on to score the win with King Ngiraboi scoring 51 career high points while Elway Ngiraboi chipped in 23. Michael Jackson, on the other hand, closed the game with 22 while teammate Shonty Ubedei chipped in 19 on the losing end.

Game Two of their series will be played on February 11 at 7:30 p.m.

In other games, Ngaraard Red Torch won over Lawmen PEAC, 76-69; Ranchers beat Melngoes, 110-78; Breakers defeated Ikelauans, 95-65; Meyuns Red Storm won over Blue Shark, 20-0; and Stingers bested raw Surf, 74-71.

Games will resume tonight with Meyuns Red Strom versus Matakui at 6 p.m. while Ngerchelong Blue Shark will face Idid 4x4 Wheelers at 7:30 p.m.

Monday night matches will feature Ididers against Ikelauans at 6 p.m. followed by the Ngerkesoaol Melngoes-Ngiwal 79ers tussle at 7:30 p.m. while Meda Boyz will face Surangel Kings in the main game at 9 p.m.

Teams are reminded to use their uniform in every game. The jersey/t-shirts should match with the shorts and their numbers. Teams will be charged $25 for failure to comply and will be defaulted.

Teams this season, teams are divided into two pools. Pool A will have Papago Smooth, Ngarchelong Blue Shark, Ngaraard Red Torch, Hanpa Cardinals, Surangel Kings, Meyuns Red Storm, Melngoes, Ranchers, Ididers and Ngermid Rivals. Pool B will be composed of MEDA Boys, Matakui, Idid 4x4 Wheelers, Ikelauans, Stingers, Lawmen PEAC, Raw Surf, Breakers, Airwaves and PCC Mesekiu.

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