Warriors march to semis in national studes tourney

LEGAZPI CITY – University of the East leaned on a fiery third-quarter run to turn back University of Perpetual Help System-Laguna, 94-68, and barge into the semifinal round of the 57th National Students Championship at the Albay Astrodome here.

From a 43-31 spread at the half, the Warriors rocked the UPHS Saints with a 14-8 run that padded the lead to 18, 57-39, at the halfway mark of the quarter.

James Yap, who led UE with a game-high 22 points, scored his last four points in that stretch, before coach Boysie Zamar pulled him out and sent in his shock-troopers.

John Roda and Kemuel Proceso tried to get back the Saints into the game, but a steady diet of three-pointers from Adrian Ronquillo, Olan Omiping and Charles Tan had the Warriors pulling away to an 84-59 lead, from which the Saints never recovered.

Paul Artadi,Omiping and Adrian Ronquillo each had nine points for the Warriors, who had so far racked up three straight wins to make it to the crossover semifinals.

Roda led UPHS with 19, while Proceso had 11 for the Region IV champions.

"We can’t afford to relax. Pahirap nang pahirap ang laban habang nalalapit tayo sa itaas," said Zamar.

The Warriors will next play the winner of the San Sebastian-PMI match, w hich is still being played as of presstime.

UE last won the Inter-Collegiate side of the National Students Championship back in 1973 with a team led by Jimmy Manansala and Emer Legaspi against University of Visayas.

The UV Baby Lancers, San Beda College, Iloilo Chinese Commercial High School and Ateneo de Davao topped their respective groups to make it to the semifinals in the high school edition of the tournament organized by the Basketball Association of the Philippines and sponsored by Spring Cooking Oil, Cebuana Lhuillier, Healthy Options, Baker’s Fair, Molten and Burlington.

Meanwhile, the BAP national board has named the National Capital Region as host of the 58th edition of the National Students Basketball Championship next year.

The members of the board, together with the BAP’s regional directors, also decided not to name a BAP chairman following the untimely death of Rep. Antonio Abaya, who served as chair for two years.

BAP sec-general Graham Lim said the next chairman will most likely come from the ranks of the basketball association.