MAPUA, Of Course!

from MARK GIONGCO

MANILA — Garvo Lanete sank the game-winning triple with 3.3 ticks left to push the San Beda Red Lions past the De La Salle Green Archers Saturday in the 2011 Filoil Flying V Preseason Premiere Cup at the Arena in San Juan.

Lanete finished with a team-high 12 points and grabbed six boards for San Beda, which improved to 3-2.

The Red Lions also clamped on defense as they forced the Archers’ LA Revilla to lose the leather as time expired.

“I told them the last timeout that we needed one last stop and we denied them,” said San Beda coach Frankie Lim.

San Beda, the reigning NCAA champion, posted a 62-51 spread before La Salle stormed back and took a one-point edge, 68-67 with 42.7 ticks left.

Maui Villanueva missed two crucial free-throws that eventually setup Lanete’s clutch shot.

Meanwhile, the Far Eastern University Tamaraws completed a sweep of the eliminations in Group B as they dumped the Letran Knights, 72-56.

The Tamaraws, who ended the elimination round unblemishedwith an 8-0 mark, showcased another dominant stint and banked on Pippo Noundou and Terrence Romeo who had 15 points each.

Letran, led by Kevin Alas’ 17 points and eight rebounds but had six errors, absorbed its sixth loss in eight games.

In the opening game, the Mapua Cardinals drew another big game from their big man Yousef Taha as they routed the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, 88-74.

Taha, a Filipino-Palestine recruit, notched a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The Cardinals hiked their record to 4-3, while the Generals fell to 2-6.

BJ Zosa Makes It

BJ Zosa is one of those young basketball players hoping to make it BIG in Philippine Basketball and he is taking it one "dribble" at a time.  From Davao City, he has relocated to Metro Manila to play with the University of the East (UE) Warriors.

OKPE Shoots!

Manila, Philippines - Chris Okpe scored underneath with 19.7 seconds left as Arellano University squeaked past University of Santo Tomas, 64-63, yesterday in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Pre-Season Premier Cup at the Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Okpe took a pass from a driving Adrian Celada, who drew the Tigers defense, and knocked in the basket, giving the Chiefs their first taste of the lead at 65-64.

The Tigers had one last chance to salvage the game but Jeric Teng misfired from the long range at thebuzzer, enabling the also-ran Chiefs to close out their campaign on a winning note.

‘’Our persistence and consistency somehow had positive results in the end. This is a big win for us. We’ll use this win to further lift the moral of the players,’’ said Arellano coach Leo Isaac.

The Chiefs wound up with a 2-5 slate.

Celada finished with a game-high 30 points and fell a rebound short of a double-double with nine boards. Vergel Zulueta and John Casino added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The loss dropped UST to 3-3 in Group A for sixth, sending the Tigers to a must-win game in their last match against the San Beda Red Lions for a shot at the last quarterfinal slot.

Nigerian Karim Abdul turned in a double-double job of 18 points and 18 rebounds while rookie Kevin Ferrer tossed in 13 points for the Tigers.

Earlier, University of the Philippines posted its third straight win as it rolled past St. Benilde, 93-75, to advance to the quarters.

Four Maroons scored in double figures with Miggy Maniego firing 13 points and grabbing four rebounds, Jelo Montecastro adding 12 points and six assists, and Mike Silungan and Mike Gamboa chipping in 11 points apiece.
‘’We could’ve done better but we’re happy to play almost the whole line-up. We can still improve in some aspects,’’ said UP coach Ricky Dandan.

UP moved to third in Group B with a 5-2 record while St. Benilde closed out with a 0-8 slate.

The Passing of Time: Past CESAFI Stars

Through Facebook, I was able to update myself regarding the "fortunes" and "misfortunes" of basketball players who used to "LORD" it all in Cebu, in particular, at the CESAFI basketball tournaments among schools and universities in Cebu.

While I was happy to find them on facebook, somehow, I was also disheartened because these players, who used to be very good looking, seem to have aged a lot.  I am old now but, in my mind, they remained forever young.  Hence, it was a bit difficult to accept that they have been "victims" of Father Time.

Like Alex Cainglet, Aldrin Ocanada, Jerry Tangkay, Danny Aying.

Roger Caytuna Shines

ROGER CANTUNA SHINES!

(Caytuna is leftmost in the above picture)

Here is a sports article written by Rommel Manlosa of the Sun-Star Daily (Cebu)

FOR the first time in 26 editions, the Philippines will be sending a basketball team to the biennial Summer Universiade in Shenzhen Province in China this August.

And Cebu is at the forefront because the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) champion – University of Cebu Webmasters will form the core of an All-Star collegiate selection to the tournament, which is organized by the International University Sports Federation (Fisu) and participated by teams from all over the world.

Yesterday, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, the newly-elected president of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP), formally introduced the team in a press conference.

Presented to compose the core of the Philippine team were Junemar Fajardo, Moncrief Rogado, Kevin Julianne, Luigi Bercede, Roger Caytuna and John Aranas.

UC was picked to represent the country after winning the BAP organized National Inter-Collegiate Basketball tournament in 2010.

This writer would have wished that his companion ARCHIE BRYAN BATUA also be included in the line-up.  But it was not meant to be so.  Batua is one of the most exciting guards in the CESAFI.

Matute Rules

from Philippine Star

 
Jose Rizal University pulled off a come-from-behind 74-68 triumph over Emilio Aguinaldo College to arrest a three-game skid.

Shooting guard Nate Matute waxed hot with 20 points, including 12 in the last five minutes, as the Bombers erased an eight-point deficit to beat the EAC side and improve to 3-4.

 “The guys showed a lot of heart down the stretch. We were able to execute and remain calm when it mattered. We showed character today,’’ said JRU mentor Vergel Meneses, whose wards stayed in the hunt for a quarterfinal seat.

Matute uncorked two successive triples that gave JRU a 66-60 cushion entering the final 2:20. The Generals countered with a 5-0 blast but the Bombers put them away for good with five unanswered points.

Jan Jamon (16) led the way for EAC, which slipped to 2-5.  

Amazing Acidre, Sizzling Zulueta

Had the chance to watch 3 basketball games this afternoon at the Fil-Oil Flying V Arena in San Juan City:  JRU against EAC; FEU against College of St. Benilde; and, Arellano against San Sebastian College-Recoletos.  The game between JRU and EAC, for me, was the most exciting.  This was because, up to the last minute, it was uncertain which team was going to win:  the JRU Heavy Bombers or the EAC Generals.  In the end, JRU won.  The winner in the FEU and Benilde was a foregone conclusion -- FEU hands down.  Then, in the 3rd game, the Arellano Chiefs led in the beginning, but in the end, it lost to a more savvy and quicker SSCR Golden Stags.

Of the players this afternoon, I found Rocky Acidre and Vergel Zulueta the most inspiring.  Though their team lost, these 2 players seem to have carried the weight of making their team win on their shoulders.  Both played from the first to the fourth quarter, with a few breaks in between.  Acidre, in particular, was all over the court trying his best to make his team win.  He was full of energy beginning to end.  Sayang, that they lost.   Will definitely look forward to watching them in their future games this month and in the other tournaments to come.