LSGH barges into NBTC Division 1 finals

MANILA, Philippines – La Salle Greenhills booked the first finals slot of the 2018 SM-NBTC Division One Championship after dispatching Chiang Kai Shek College, 81-64, at the Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday.

The Greenies, the current NCAA Juniors titlists, caught fire early in the game with four consecutive triples by Joel Cagulangan, Jacob Lao, Mark Sangco and McCoy Marcos to take a 25-12 lead after the first 10 minutes.

CKSC answered with a flurry of points by Joshua Ramirez and Sham Banez to make a game of it, 32-29, by halftime. The Blue Dragons came out of the half attacking LSGH’s interior to take a 33-32 lead.

However, Lao and Cagulang hit five triples between themselves to blow the game wide open, 54-38, at the 2:07 mark of the third period.

After leading by as much as 23 points, the Greenies coasted to an 81-64 win to enter the SM-NBTC Division One finals in their first try.

As of posting time, they are awaiting the winner of the Ateneo de Cebu-National University semi-final match.

Cagulangan, playing on a dislocated finger on his left hand, led LSGH with 25 points, including six triples. Lao was a perfect 5-5 from three-point range for 17 points while Marcos added 15.

For CKSC, the MMBL champions, John Galinato led with 15 points. He shot a poor24 percent from the field as he went 5-21.

“We had two months to prepare for this tournament,” disclosed LSGH coach Marvin Bievenida, whose side dispatched Lyceum and San Beda to make the semifinals. “We are motivated to win this.”

Over at the Division 2 semi-finals, Balanga Bataan defeated Saint Louis School Dumaguete, 59-45, to set up a meeting versus De La Salle Lipa, which returned to the championship round after taking down St. Benilde International School Calamba, 79-79.

The Division 1 and 2 Championship will be played in Friday morning, while the All-Star Games of the respective division will take place in the afternoon, all at the same venue.