THE San Sebastian College (SCC) Staglets were officially declared champions of the 6th San Remegio Properties Cup basketball tournament after defending champion University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers refused to continue the championship game on Sunday, July 27, 2025, at the Magis Arena in Mandaue City.
Coach Ronald Bucao and the Baby Lancers decided to concede with 4:39 remaining in the third quarter, despite the game being tigthly contested.
Bucao’s decision stemmed from a two-point score discrepancy that surfaced earlier in the quarter. With 7:21 on the clock, UV’s score mysteriously increased by two points — from 39 to 41 — without a basket being made.
This prompted San Sebastian coach Chelito Caro to complain to the table officials. A few seconds later, commissioner Bertoni Salazar initiated a video replay to verify if there was such an error.
The replay confirmed the error: UV’s score had indeed increased without justification. As a result, commissioner Salazar ordered a two-point deduction.
“They kept on complaining about the score; even though we were ahead by three, they wanted a tied score. Since they were the visitors, we just gave them a chance,” Bucao said in an interview.
Caro, on the other hand, admitted to complaining about the score when they noticed the error.
However, he stated that his initial complaint was ignored as the game continued.
“We had no problem. When we first complained, they continued the game without changing the score, so we accepted it. The game had already progressed,” said Caro.
“Of course, the commissioner saw on the live stream that there was a mistake that inflated the score, so he had it reviewed. By the rules, they were correct,” Caro explained, adding, “But since Coach Bucao made that decision, there was nothing we could do.”
The table officials also admitted that the scoreboard equipment was malfunctioning, noting that the score would sometimes inexplicably jump, and they might have missed it at that moment.
Tournament organizers expressed disappointment over the incident, as it could tarnish the image of the league, whose purpose is to provide exposure for Cebu schools ahead of major tournaments.
Aside from the Manila-based San Sebastian and Cebu teams, two visiting squads from Taiwan and one from Iloilo also joined the tournament. / JBM