Public schools next stop in Seaoil program

Manila, Philippines - Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdog-Cebu’s thrilling 68-64 victory over Purefoods-St. John of Bacolod for the Seaoil Elite League crown in Bacolod last Tuesday capped the National Basketball Training Center successful cage program.

In fact, NBTC tournament director Alex Compton said another training program has been drawn up for public schools in Baguio City.

“Hopefully, we could touch and teach some more in the years to come because we know that there are a lot of talents out there waiting to be tapped,” said Compton.

Over 6,000 kids and coaches from all over the country have benefited from this year’s NBTC program, majority of which saw action in the Bacolod meet.

Compton handed out the champions trophy and the individual awards, including the MVP trophy to Julius Cadavis.

A 15-year-old, 6-3 find, Cadavis bulldozed his way to a game-high 20 points while Aaron Baldwin Sing scattered 13 points, including three triples, to lift Cebu, which was represented by four-time Milo national champion Sacred Heart, to the championship.

“It was all about heart,” said Cebu mentor Jaysar Esperat in the din of the team’s celebration at midcourt.

Earlier, Magnolia Frozen Delights-Iloilo turned back San Mig Coffee-Cavite, 68-61, to clinch third place in the tournament bankrolled by Seaoil, supported by San Miguel Corp. and sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.

Cadavis, an incoming senior, came through with an eight-point splurge in the fourth quarter, including a layup that gave his team a four-point cushion with 15.8 seconds left in the contest.

Bacolod went to the stripe 22 times against Cebu’s two but the host, which made it here as a wildcard after one team backed out in the last minute, flubbed 15 free throws that hastened their downfall.

It was a highly emotional match for the two regional rivals with players from both sides got assessed by a flagrant foul, a technical and a warning.

EJ de Leon paced St. John with 14 points while Jan Toral added 10 but the team missed the clutch shooting of Kib Montalbo, one of the team’s leading scorers with a double-digit average, who was held to just eight points after sustaining a wrist injury.