SHS-ATENEO de Cebu and the University of the Visayas would be vying for the championships in their respective divisions after they trounced their opponents in the 34th SBP Passerelle Twin Tournament Visayas Regionals backed by Milo at the Pototan Astrodome in Iloilo City on Saturday, November 9, 2019.
Ateneo de Cebu defeated St. Robert’s International Academy, 59-55, and then, the University of St. La Salle, 66-53, to advance to the finals against the Hercor College in the Passerelle division. Ateneo de Cebu and Hercor advanced to the finals after racking up similar 2-0 win-loss records on Saturday.
The road for Ateneo de Cebu however, was not easy as it had to put down a resilient St. Robert’s squad that held the lead for the first three periods. The game remained tied at 55-all until Jared Bahay put Ateneo de Cebu in front for good with a free-throw with 1:12 to go.
St. Robert’s actually had a chance at grabbing the lead but Alrex Tiolo missed two crucial free throws with 49 seconds to go. Raprap Arradaza and Michael Asoro later added three more free-throws to seal the win for the Cebu-based squad.
The win was made even more impressive by the fact that Ateneo de Cebu played with just 13 players after RJ Dacalos and Kristian Porter went down with injuries.
Meanwhile, in the Small Basketeers Philippines division, UV defeated the Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion of Roxas, 42-32, and then, Hua Siong College, 53-22, to move on to the finals against the St. John’s Institute.