The University of San Carlos (USC) and the University of the Visayas (UV) raised Cebu’s flag up high as they sealed finals berths in their respective divisions in the national finals of the Milo-backed Best Twin Tournament at the Capiz gym in Roxas City.
The Small Basketeers of the Philippines (SBP) squad of the USC, a team playing both skill and heart in the face of the tragic death of their teammate JV Cenabre, swept the rest of their assignments in the elimination round after they beat, Don Bosco Academy, 57-47;and Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU), 52-57.
The Passerelle team of the UV, on the other hand, shrugged off the loss to La Salle Greenhills the other day and vented its ire upon Holy Child School of Davao, 65-42, and the Holy Angel University (HAU) of Pampanga, 49-45.
Against ADDU, USC was in control of the lead in the first half before its opponents answered back in the third canto to take a 36-31 lead into the payoff period. Refusing to give in, the Baby Warriors retaliated by going on a 17-4 run that saw them at one point score 13 unanswered points for a 48-40 lead. At the helm of that rally were Jholo Pakanna and Neon Chavez.
But disaster struck USC as one by one, its stars fouled out. Sensing blood, ADDU came back to within four, but Clint Octaviano stepped up big in crunch time with two timely baskets that put down the uprising and seal the win for the Cebuanos.
USC was taking on the mighty La Salle Greenhills in the championship game, which was still being played in as of this writing. UV was also playing against La Salle for the Passerelle crown.