TITLE-FAVORITE Chase Tower Runs (CTR) served notice of its serious championship campaign by posting its second straight win, defeating the Mindanao-based Blancas Golden Knights, 87–76, to grab the solo lead in the Cebu City Christmas League at the City Sports Institute Gym on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.
The arrival of UAAP scoring champion Nic Cabanero, who teamed up with point guard Jared Bahay, proved to be a big boost for coach Paul Joven’s wards, who were seeking their third consecutive victory in the tournament against the also star-laden Welec Trucking Services as of this writing.
The last time Cabanero and Bahay played together was in 2015 during their elementary days with the University of San Carlos Basic Education team, where they participated in the Milo Best–SBP and Passerelle basketball tournaments alongside Reinhard Jumamoy.
“Yes, that was the last time. Mga bata pa kaayo sila (They were still very young then), and I think si Jared maoy kamanghuran nila (was the youngest among them) at the age of nine. Manghilak pa na sila og mapildi (They would even cry back then whenever they lost),” said Alimski Largo, who previously coached them along with Bernie Tangarorang.
After closing the first half with a 43–34 lead, CTR — behind Emman Calo and Roger Rocacurva, who joined the scoring spree and took turns attacking Blancas’ defense from all angles — widened the gap to as much as 17 points, 66–49, capped by Cabanero’s reverse layup.
From there, CTR never looked back, continuing to pour it on and securing the victory, handing Blancas its first loss in three outings.
Calo once again topscored with 20 points, while Rocacurva finished with 12. Cabanero contributed eight points along with four rebounds.
Earlier, the young Ritchie Boy Ballers proved they belong in the Cebu City Christmas League after dominating the veteran-laden Mighty Warriors, 95–75.
Right from the opening tip, the Ritchie Boy Ballers, manned by several collegiate players from Cebu, quickly took control of the contest, jumping to a 29–17 lead in the first quarter and extending it to 46–35 at halftime.
Sharpshooter Ricofer Sordilla lit up the scoreboard with eight three-pointers en route to a 30-point performance to lead the Ritchie Boy Ballers to their first win in three games, pushing the Mighty Warriors deeper into the cellar.
“I hope that in the next game, we can maintain our consistency. Hopefully, we will win on Saturday (against Welec Trucking Services),” said Ritchie Boy team manager Earl Taborada in mixed Cebuano and English. / JBM