Red House, ESJ Fyr Fyter win NBA opener

NEGROS Basketball Association (NBA) delivered what the Negrense basketball fans expected with great doubleheader offering as University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos/Red House Taiwan Shabu-Shabu and ESJ Fyr Fyter/YBAC scored opening day victories on Sunday, April 8, in the President’s Cup at the Bacolod Tay Tung High School.

Cameroonian import Landry Zanjo of RHTSS/UNO-R made his hulk presence felt in the league with a monster performance of 40 points, scoring 21 in the first half as Gerome Aledron’s ward from Cebu took the curtain raiser over Colegio de Sta. Ana de Victorias/Silver Dragon Construction, 75-63.

Elvis Atinado’s Silver Dragons took the opening canto, 21-18 behind the combined 17 points of Carl Magbanua and their Cameroonian CSAV teammate JR Essakoudalla. Zanjo led Red House with 10 points in that period.

The former South Western University Cobras stalwart Zanjo took charge of Red House’s offense with 14 markers plus an excellent defensive stop on his Silver Dragon counterpart who was held to only two points. Red House booked a 38-31 advantage at the half.

Zanjo, the 6-foot-8 mammoth, continued to dominate the paint in the 3rd canto with 14 points to anchor his team’s 21 points and extended the lead to 59-50 going into the final period. Jeric Adorio delivered six points of Silver Dragon’s 17 points in that span.

With Red House leading by seven points with 2:30 minutes left, veteran coaches Aledron and Atinado, who are known to be archrivals in the collegiate league, went into a verbal tussle. Both were called for a warning for unsportsmanlike behavior while Silver Dragon’s bench got a technical.

Kevin Villafranca backstopped Zanjo with 14 points as Bill Prado and Patrick Yulo added six points apiece.

Essakoudalla led Silver Dragon with 18 points as Magbanua added 13 and Adorio with 10 points.

In the other game, ESJ Fyr Fyter/YBAC survived the tough challenge from La Consolacion College/Davies Paint-J Squared Construction, 87-80.

The Dennis Tumayan-coached ESJ Fyr Fyter/YBAC opened up a 19-16 first quarter advantage with guards Coleen Testa and Rolly Jaca delivering six points each – all from beyond the arc as former Philippine Basketball Association and Negros Slasher forward Leo Bat-og added four points.

Jomarie Bayhon, Mark Ramos, and Nico Apostol dropped 4 points apiece for Ritchie Militante’s Davies Paint-J Squared Construction in that period.

Armand Kyle Guevarra came out hot from long range with seven points as Kurt Nestor Sudayon added five points to anchor Davies Paint-J Squared Construction rally for the equalizer at 36-all at the half.

John Nermal took advantage of his height and the mismatches in the third period with nine points while Jaca and import Bassieru Sackor added six points to give ESJ Fyr Fyter/YBAC a 65-60 lead entering the final quarter.

In the payoff period, Nermal and Sackor ran the floor well with eight points apiece to seal their first win in the tournament even as Sudayon delivered 10 for Davies Paint-J Squared Construction.

Nermal led ESJ Fyr Fyter/YBAC with 21 points as Testa and Jaca added 16 and 14 markers, respectively, while import Sackor with 11 points including three blocks and a pair of steals.

Sudayon got 20 points to spearhead the hard fighting Davies Paint-J Squared Construction as Raymond Ilagan silently scored 12 points, Bayhon with 11, Guevarra with 10 as Ramos ad Apostol added eight points each.

Also highlighting the weekend’s opening rites was the recognition given by the Sports Communicators’ Organization of the Philippines-Bacolod to NBA President Oscar Bascon, and Board of Directors Alex Espino and Juan Ramon Guanzon for their exemplary contributions in the creation of NBA and the development of basketball in the province of Negros Occidental since 1985.

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