THE University of San Carlos Baby Warriors pulled off a twinkill in the Cebu Youth Basketball League Hapee Cup after winning the mini and midget division titles yesterday at the City Sports Club Cebu basketball court.
USC North repeated their elimination round exploit over Sacred Heart School Jesuit with a 46-41 come-from-behind win to claim the mini division crown.
USC North had to pass through the eye of the needle before taking the win. The Baby Warriors were running out of time as they were behind by as much as 17 points in the final quarter. But instead of just accepting defeat, USC NC, with the leadership of John Pajantoy, fired up and went on a searing 21-2 run to steal the title.
Pajantoy scored 18 points in the rally to help the team win the crown, earning the Most Valuable Player title. USC NC center Rey Arnejo also scored in double digits after scattering 10 points for the team.
Winning the title completed USC’s bashing of SHS-J, which is the defending regional champion of the Milo Best basketball competition. USC first defeated SHS-J in the elimination round and proved the win was no fluke as they finished off the team in the final round.
Meanwhile, after having been undefeated for the entire tournament, the University of Cebu Baby Webmasters suffered its lone loss in the competition at the most inopportune moment—the championship round.
UC Baby Webmasters badly lost to USC South, 72-77 in overtime to concede the midget division title to the Carolinians.
USC South were actually ahead in the first half but squandered its 13-point lead when it allowed UC’s Roger Pogoy to fire up his team. UC managed to level the game, forcing the extra period.
The Baby Warriors regrouped in extra time to eventually win. USC’s Jake Gabuya was again the vital cog in the team and scored nine of his 21 points in the extra period for their win. Gabuya also earned the MVP.
John Sepe and Dominic Nazareno also scored 16 and 11 points, respectively, for USC in the finals.
With the conclusion of the competition, organizer Rico Navarro said he is confident that the league has a potential to last.
“The response from coaches, players and parents were very positive, and we hope to build from here as we prepare for our other activities later in the year,” said Navarro.
“It wasn’t easy to start it off but we’re happy to have pulled it off. Our basis for evaluating the kick-off league will always be if there is a potential for the league to grow as a venue for youth basketball. So far, so good. We’re all in this for the development of the sport among the youth,” he said. (MCB)
