Dragons win Shield title

THE Cebu Dragons bounced back from a slow start to win the shield title in the 24th Manila 10s International Rugby Tournament over the Manila Hapons, 36-0, last weekend.

In the first day of their three-round robin pool games, they all lost to the Alabang Ibons, Brisbane Vulgarians and Hong Kong Scorpions due to numerous unforced errors.

“Our coach Dean Baker told us that the intensity and heart was there in each game, it was just lack of execution on attack that cost us the games,” said Jerry Branzuela.

The next day, the Dragons redeemed themselves from the bad start and took on the Pot Bellied Pigs of Hong Kong, which featured former England international John Bentley.

Their two months of hard training was a big boost as the Dragons not only survived the summer heat but the visiting team to set up a finals match against the Manila Hapons.

Despite playing against the host team, the crowd cheered for the Cebuanos, who scored in the first 60 seconds to set the tone of the rout.

Richard Mante was named the Most Valuable Player after scoring the most tries in the tournament for Cebu.

“The difference between Saturday’s and Sunday’s games was that the Dragons went back to the basics and once the basics were properly executed, the results followed,” said Baker.

This is the second time the Dragons have won the Shield championship in the Manila 10s tournament.