ALEGRIA secured a place in the semifinals of the Calderon Cup 2026 21-Under basketball tournament after beating Badian, 81-75, last Saturday, April 25, at the Alegria Sports Complex.
The victory made Alegria the second team to earn an automatic semifinals berth, joining Dumanjug, which also finished with a 5-1 record.
Alegria looked headed for an easy win after building a huge 43-20 lead in the second quarter with strong team play on offense.
But Badian fought back in the second half by using an aggressive trapping defense that forced several turnovers.
Badian then made a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to just seven points, 69-62, and put pressure on the home team.
Alegria stayed calm in the final minutes and made important free throws to stop Badian’s comeback attempt.
Vil March Amacna led Alegria with 21 points and nine rebounds and was named Best Player of the Game. Jaymar Cometa added 14 points and five rebounds.
For Badian, James Ivan Alviso scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Clark Aron Bulahan added 21 points.
Earlier in the day, Malabuyoc defeated Ginatilan, 95-86, creating a tie with Alegria at 5-1 in Bracket B.
However, Alegria won the tiebreaker with six points, compared to four for Malabuyoc, to claim the semifinal spot.
Malabuyoc will now play Ronda in the quarterfinals.
Ginatilan also moved on after beating Badian in the points system, even though both teams ended with 1-5 records. Ginatilan will face Moalboal in the crossover quarterfinals.
The tournament continues on Tuesday, April 28, at the Malabuyoc Sports Complex, where the last two semifinal spots will be decided. / JBM