STI cagers repeat as Jolas Cup champs

WITH Mark John Daanoy flashing off another MVP performance, the STI Olympians continued to dominate the collegiate race of the 9th Jojo Lastimosa-Alaska Cup Summer basketball tournament here at the Xavier University gym.

Daanoy and fellow starters Carl Villar and John Rey Manatad -- who both made it to the Mythical Five -- towed the multi-titled STI of coach Boy Dacoco in turning down the challenge of closest pursuer MCM Farm for the tertiary crown.

"We've been through lot of sacrifices before we succeeded in coming up with this kind of team chemistry. Nagpugas gyod ang mga bata og mga pasakit and now they've been rewarded," Dacoco was quoted as saying.

There's no more domination, however, in the lower age brackets as Dacoco's Sacred Heart of Jesus Montessori School (SHJMS) and host Xavier University now shared the spotlight with rival team from the "pineapple country" that used to be a dark horse bet in the past.

As Sacred Heart edged B-MEG Essentials of Butuan City in taking the 17-under crown and XU besting Dacoco's wards for the 14-under plum, Del Monte Philippines Incorporation bucked the odds en route to pocketing the 12-under diadem. (LLS)