By Jen Hershe Alterado
THE Central Visayas girls' basketball team made an auspicious debut in the 2024 Palarong Pambansa, blasting Zamboanga Peninsula off the map, 99-55, on Thursday, July 11, 2024, at the University of San Carlos-North gym.
Central Visayas, which finished second last year in Marikina, aggressively went to the offensive right after the tip-off and never let up all throughout the game.
The tandem of Nadine Labay and Jesrica Kitkat Tenebro led the attack, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Zamboanga tried to stage a series of mini rallies, but to no avail.
It was a day of smooth sailing as defending champion National Capital Region and Eastern Visayas also scored easy wins.
The NCR basketbelles clobbered Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (Barmm), 103-60, to post their first victory in the Palaro.
It was actually a David-versus-Goliath match, but NCR was compassionate enough to allow Barmm to score after erecting an insurmountable lead in the third quarter.
The NCR cagebelles even cheered everytime a BARMM player makes a shot, showing that kindness and camaraderie are also important in sports competition.
The Eastern Visayas Golden Stingers, on the other hand, also pounced on the Southern Tagalog Calabarzon Heroes, 72-52.
In the only closely-battled game, Ilocos prevailed over Cagayan Valley, 67-64. (Jen Hershe Alterado, Junior Journo)