LUZON’S top junior basketball teams square off this weekend for the regional title in the 2009 Milo-sponsored Best Center SBP-Passerelle at the University of the Assumption in Pampanga.

Seeing action in the SBP division are Our Lady of Mount Carmel Montessori of Baguio, Mary Hill College of Lucena, Don Bosco Technical Institute Tarlac and Mother Goose Special School System of Pangasinan.

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Clashing for the right to represent Luzon in the Passerelle national finals are Baguio City National High School, International School for Better Beginnings of Lucena, Guagua National College of Pampanga and St. John Cathedral School of Pangasinan.

Baguio City National High School played with a big heart in the second period romping off with an 88-73 win against its fiercest rival, Saint Louis University Laboratory High School, for the Passerelle crown and the right to represent Baguio in the regional championships.

City High dominated SLU in the second and third periods as it outrebounded, outhustled, outscored and outwitted its counterpart from Navy Base.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Montessori rode on the shoulders of Rodolfo Nievera to win its first Milo Small Basketeers of the Philippines crown after six years of frustration after downing a fighting Tabora Elementary School, 53-47, to join City High in the regional finals.

Nievera scored all of his 18 points in the second half to finally nail the team’s crown in the annual Milo caging tournament after years of frustration.

Now on its 24th season, the Milo-sponsored Best Center SBP-Passerelle consistently showcases the top elementary and high school teams.

It is held in line with the commitment of Milo to promote sports on the grassroots level and help build champions in sports and in life.