Jay-R Taganas, who powered the Red Lions past the Visayas champions, 17-14, to top the national finals recently, came through with clutch baskets halfway through the 20-minute match, then Riego Gamalinda sank two pressure-packed charities in the closing minute to hold off their rivals and pocket the crown plus the top $2,000 worth of adidas gift certificates.
The win, which came after the Red Lions dropped a 14-16 decision to West Negros cagers at the close of the round-robin elims phase early in the day, also netted the team an all-expense paid trip to the US to watch an NBA game late this year.
San Beda, mentored by Rey Baena, also took home five gold medals with streetball logo design, five pieces of adidas eyewear and five Cherifer gift packs during the awards rites graced by Portland Trailblazers’ Sebastian Telfair.
"Thank God we won it. It was a tough game but we just played with a bigger heart," said Baena, who came up with timely substitutions and drew the best from his players who responded each time the West Negros cagers threatened to turn the game around.
Eduardo Tecson set the tone for the win with two two-pointers in the first 10 minutes of the contest then diminutive Borgie Hermida defied his taller defenders with two difficult drives in the last 1:51. Gamalinda and Tecson each had five points while Taganas had four and Hermida chipped in two points.
West Negros College, behind Jelmar Padilla’s three straight baskets, pulled to within 8-9, after trailing by as many as five points, 4-9, but failed to sustain the momentum and settled for a runner-up finish again worth $1,500 in gift certificates.
Padilla churned out an eight-point production for West Negros but the rest, including the gangling Siverino Baclao, failed to step up. Baclao struggled for two points, the same output chipped in by Jonblargs Alisbo while Rundy Baydo made only one point.
Earlier, Chinese-Taipei outfoxed a fancied Chinese squad, 17-13, in a see-saw battle to bag the girls crown of the event co-presented by Globe Gentxt and backed by McDonald’s, Cherifer Multivitamins, Snickers chocolate bar, Nissan, Coppertone, adidas fragrance and body care, Blue Angel alcohol, Milo, Powerade, Viva Mineral Water, adidas eyewear and Yehey.com.
The Taiwanese also took home $2,000 worth of adidas gift certificates, adidas eyewear, Cherifer gift packs plus Globe Gentxt phone kits.
The RP lasses of Holy Angel University-Pampanga missed the finals when they bowed to Chinese-Taipei, 9-15, after winning their first two games. Top scorer Jessamine delos Reyes got a hard tackle from Liu Jie-Wei in that game and banged her head on the floor on a nasty fall, forcing her to sit out a crucial game against China, which RP dropped, 11-15.
On its way to the boys‚ championship, West Negros College (RP Team B), swamped South Korea, 15-5, blasted Hong Kong, 11-7, ripped Chinese-Taipei, 15-7, then hung tough against China with a 16-13 victory before edging San Beda-RP Team A, 16-14, for a sweep of the elims.
On the other hand, San Beda whipped China, 13-6, and Korea, 15-9, then outsteadied a stubborn Chinese-Taipei side, 12-11, and thwarted unfancied Hong Kong, 12-9.