St. John’s Institute came and conquered as they captured the championship in the Cebu-Bacolod Goodwill Games with a resounding, 89-44, win over the Cebu Eastern College Dragons in the finals last Sunday at the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu campus in Canduman, Mandaue City.
SJI wasted no time in asserting their dominance over the rest of the competition as they swept all of their games in the elimination round before putting a stamp on their class with a commanding performance in the championship match.
The visitors jumped to a 30-8 lead after the first period, with Francis de Asis cashing in 24 points in the period. The scoring rampage continued throughout the game with Eman Go and Donn Lim taking over in the second period that saw SJI on top, 52-24 at halftime. It was the turn of Kish Suarez, Ian Japzon and Anton Albayda to boost SJI in the third period, giving them an insurmountable 74-31 lead at the end of three quarters. The fourth period proved to be more of a victory lap for the team that returned to Bacolod yesterday.
De Asis was unstoppable with 24 points to lead SJI, while Eman Go added 12. Jeffer Jarrett Hernando led CEC with 19 points. Already a force in the Passerelle division of the Milo BEST SBP/Passerelle Twin Tournament in Bacolod, SJI has always played the role of runner-up to the likes of University of St. La Salle or Tay Tung in the SBP division.
In the third place game, the University of San Carlos (USC) North Campus edged SHS-AdC, 47-46, thanks to Neon Chavez’s free-throw with no time remaining in the game. The Baby Warriors were in control for most of the game until the Magis Eagles staged an end game rally to tie the game at 46-all.