Davies Paints hands Batch ‘98 first loss in Don Bosco caging

CEBU, Philippines - Davies Paints toiled hard at the endgame to escape with a 47-43 win over the gritty Batch '98 in the Bosconian Basketball Club's Don Bosco Cup last Sunday at the Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC) gym in Brgy. Punta Princesa, this city.

Former DBTC Greywolves star Celso Colegado punched in 15 points as Davies Paints coasted to its second straight victory after dropping its season-opening assignments against Bullvets.

Davies Paints trailed for most of the way, but caught fire in the windup where it staged a 22-16 blitz to turn the tables on Batch '98, which drew 17 points from Ron Mabanto. It was the first setback in three starts for Batch '98, leaving the 2-0 Superstarred at the only undefeated squad in the league.

In the other games, Frederick Mellana banged in 20 points as Bullvets overcame the hard-fighting Batch 2009, 51-48, while Chrissar Llegunas netted 18 points as Amchels shrugged off a slow start to repulse Batch '95, 55-47.

Bullvets got off to a hot 14-6 start and wisely protected its slim lead the rest of the way to grind through a three-point triumph.

Amchels, on the other hand, had a cold start resulting into a five-point deficit, 9-14, after the first 10 minutes of play. Amchels, however, slowly but surely crawled back until it seized the lead using a 14-8 rally that baffled Batch '95 at the final buzzer.

Amchels are now tied at second place with Davies Paints, Bullvets and Batch '98 on identical 2-1 slates, while Batch '95 fell to 1-2.

In the other match, Batch '93 prevailed over the listless Batch '97 via a 73-65 decision. Batch '93 was in complete command after it took an early 20-16 lead. They made it 57-51 after three quarters then neutralized Batch '97's offense in the closing minutes of the contest to seal the deal.

A total of 10 teams are taking part in the tournament organized by the Bosconian Basketball Club (BBC) under the leadership of its president Engr. Jonathan Reyes. The rest of the BBC officers are Acht. Duane Dale Anino (vice president), Atty. Kenneth Kern Sesante (secretary), Omar Nacorda (treasurer), and Ian Castrodes (auditor).

The participating squads 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 semis wherein the survivors will slug it out for the championship in a best-of-three series. The losers will fight for third place in a winner-take-all affair.— EBV (FREEMAN)