THE UNIVERSITY of San Carlos (USC) underscored its readiness to dominate grassroots basketball in the region this year as it won both the Small Basketeers of the Philippines and the Passerelle division championships in the CYBL VISMIN Goodwill Games 2013 at the SHS-Ateneo de Cebu Gym in Canduman, Mandaue City.
USC’s SBP squad defeated St. John’s Institute (SJI) of Bacolod, 49-42, while the Passerelle team downed the Ateneo de Iloilo (AdI), 51-36, to complete the twinkill.
The SBP championship game was a see-saw affair for the first half with SJI leading 10-9 after the first period then USC taking a 23-22 lead at halftime.
USC got some breathing room in the third quarter when it took a 36-30 lead going into the payoff period behind the seven third quarter points of Zhar Octaviano.
Rasheed Libradilla then presided over a 7-0 run with a three-pointer that gave USC a 47-39 lead. Miguel Sarmiento made a triple to slice the lead to 47-42 with 1:47 left, but the Bacolod cagers couldn’t get any closer as Libradilla iced the game with another field goal for the final tally.
If the SBP game was close all the way, the Passerelle championship game was close only in the first half. Everything else was an all USC show.
After taking a slim 10-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 24-17 halftime lead, USC broke the game wide open in the third period behind the trio of Jholo Pakanna, Jean Jacque Antigua and Neville Morales.
USC’s third quarter defense also handcuffed the visitors from Iloilo as it limited them to only seven points in the quarter for a comfortable 38-24 lead and took complete control of the game.
It was cruise control in the fourth period with the lead ballooning to as many as 21 points. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio