HCDC, Ateneo cop titles

THE Holy Cross of Davao College (HCDC) Crusaders and Ateneo de Davao University Blue Knight bagged titles at the close of the Davao Association of Colleges and Schools (Dacs) Collegiate Sportsfest 2012 basketball competition at the San Pedro College (SPC) Gym over the weekend.

The Crusaders survived a late rally to beat the University of the Immaculate Conception (UIC), 86-82, to capture the Division A crown.

The Joshua Lamano-mentored Crusaders took an early lead and kept the momentum with a 60-53 advantage over UIC at the end of the third period.

UIC, however, sparked a 13-4 run midway in the fourth to snatch the lead, 73-72, behind the combined efforts of Ian Calihat and Eljay Fernandez.

A series of lead changes then ensued in the final three minutes but the Crusaders capitalized on UIC's penalty situation and converted the needed charity baskets.

Lloyd Lacida fired 18 points as Francis Espiritu added 13. UIC's Calihat and Fernandez finished with 26 and 17, respectively.

Lamano, in an interview, said, "nagfocus lang gyud mi sa among depensa sa ilang mga point guard para maglisod sila ug set-up. Naa pud mi size advantage sa ila so gigamit lang namo to para mapildi sila sa rebounding (We focused on our defense so their pointguard will have difficulty setting up their plays. We also put to good use our size advantage to grab more rebounds)."

The Blue Knights, meanwhile, cruised past John Paul II College of Davao (JPIICD) Saints, 87-65, in their Division B finals match.

Ateneo's Paulo Dailisan exploded with 25 points including five triples of his team's total 13 treys. His teammate Jose Presbitero chipped in 20.

Ateneo head coach Miguel Solitaria, in an interview, said they were just able to get open treys coupled by the determination of his players to win.

In women's event, HCDC routed SPC, 73-52, to secure the championship and a slot to the Dacs Regional Meet set sometime next month.