THE University of San Carlos (USC) made the finals of the Small Basketeers of the Philippines (SBP) division into a coronation instead of a competition as they annihilated the University of the Visayas (UV), 70-25, to claim the championship in the Cebu leg of the Milo-backed BEST Twin Tournament yesterday at the USC North Campus gym along Mango Avenue.
After giving up 10 points in the opening canto, USC toughened up and limited its opponents to just nine combined markers in the second and third periods. By then, USC had already compiled a 60-19 lead that paved the way towards the title win.
The win put USC in the Visayas Regional Finals to be held next month in Iloilo. There, it will vie for the chance for back-to-back crowns to earn the opportunity to represent the region in the national finals where it placed second last year.
ZJ Enriquez, the son of former M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala great Woodrow Enriquez, led the way with 13 points and was forthwith named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Justin Betino added 10 while big man, Joseph Berdin chipped in nine in the one-sided onslaught.
UV kept close, 10-17, at the end of the first 10 minutes of action but USC stepped up its defense and limited UV to just four points in the ensuing canto while getting buckets from Betino, Berdin and Brandon Largo to erect a 40-14 halftime lead.
Things turned from bad to worse in the third as USC kept pushing the pedal to the metal behind the efforts of Czar Octaviano, who kept getting to the rack for easy layups, and the crafty inside plays of Deanmark Rondina and Mikael Russiana, to push the lead to 60-19. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio