CEBU, Philippines - Bullvets rode on scintillating offensive at the endgame to pull off a vengeful 60-59 win over Davies Paints in the opener of the Bosconian Basketball Club's Don Bosco Cup 2013 last Sunday at the University of San Carlos (USC)-North Campus gym.
Trailing by 17 points after three quarters, Bullvets executed perfectly a Houdini-like escape in the windup where they detonated a devasting 30-12 bomb to turn the tables on the stunned Davies Paints via cliffhanger at the final buzzer.
It was a sweet redemption of sort for Bullvets, who lost to Davies Paints during the finals of the BBC Alumni Cup, the league's season-opening conference last April.
In the other opening matches, Batch '95 whipped up a furious offensive storm in the final half to blow off Batch 97, 83-67, while Batch '98 was in full command from start to finish in its 60-44 demolition of DBUFC.
Batch '95 was ahead by only five at halftime, 31-25, but battered Batch '97 at will in the remainder of the match for the 16-point romp.
Batch '98, on the other hand, was never threatend after posting an eight-point advantage at the intermission, 24-16. They padded their lead to 16 points, 42-26, which they were able to preserve until the end of the 40-minute duel.
The other participating teams are Batches '93, '94, '95 and 2009. They will play in a single round robin format, with the top four teams per bracket advancing into the quarterfinals with twice-to-beat advantage over the lower-ranked qualifiers.
The winners will then proceed into the crossover semifinals wherein the survivors will slug it out for the championship in a best-of-three series, while the losers will fight for third place in a winner-take-all affair.
The scores
Bullvets (60) - Brigoli 15, Escobido 15, Duran 10, Guimbarda 7, Cases 6, Genson 3, Sanico 2 , Serafin 2
Davies Paints (59) - Colegado 18, Reroma 12, Gabison 12, Decatoria 8, Decatoria 5, Jagape 4
Quarterscores:8-25; 17-33; 30-47; 60-59. — ebv (FREEMAN)