THE ST. JOHN’S Institute swept the rest of the Cebu squads in the Cebu-Bacolod Goodwill Games yesterday to earn the top seed and a slot in the finals at the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu campus in Canduman, Mandaue City.
After demolishing the Magis Eagles in their opening game, SJI proceeded to wreak havoc on the rest of the field as they destroyed the Cebu Eastern College Dragons, 97-31, before completing the sweep of the elimination round with a commanding, 65-52, win over the University of San Carlos North.
Facing SJI in the finals will be CEC, after they outlasted the Magis Eagles, 67-64. The last game in the elimination round saw USC keep SHS-AdC winless with a 62-44 victory.
While the Bacolod visitors had a relatively easy time against CEC, USC North provided them with a scare of an upset.
USC North controlled the first half of the game after it managed to break SJI’s full-court press and implemented a press of its own to throw off the visitors. This was the first time for an SJI opponent to outscore them in two quarters of this pocket tournament.
The Baby Warriors surprised SJI, taking an 18-11 after the first quarter and 26-25 at halftime.
SJI turned things around in the third quarter with USC North fielding only four players due to absence of a player. SJI streaked to a commanding 49-34 lead at the end of three periods to ensure the win.
The final standings of the classification phase had SJI on top at 3-0, followed by CEC (2-1), USC North (1-2) and SHS-AdC (0-3). /Correspondent Jonas Panerio