THE Cinderella run of the University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers continued as they booked a slot in the finals after they ousted the favored powerhouse of the UAAP, the University of Sto. Tomas Baby Growling Tigers, 84-78, in the SBP National Under-16 Basketball Championships yesterday at the University of Baguio gym.
The Baby Lancers of head coach Jaymar Canoy banked on the offensive explosion of Andres Paul Desiderio to hack out the hard-earned victory, which now puts them within a win away from a national title in the prestigious tournament.
Desiderio, the soft-spoken 15-year old wingman, scored a whopping 33 points to lead the Baby Lancers.
Desiderio got much needed help from his teammates with Ralf Jude Dinolan scoring 17 and Gerald Fernandez adding 16.
Alvin Baethiong led the Baby Growling Tigers with 14 points.
Next up for the Baby Lancers in today’s championship game will be the Sacred Heart of Jesus Montessori of Cagayan de Oro City, who beat the St. John Institute of Bacolod City in the other semifinal pairing.
Lady luck continued to smile for the Baby Lancers as St. John’s was the only team to hand them a defeat in this tournament, a 91-99 upset in overtime. Correspondent Jonas PAnerio