The Small Basketeers of the Philippines (SBP) and Passerelle squads of the University of San Carlos (USC) kick-started their campaigns in the Visayas regional finals of the Milo-backed BEST Center Twin Tournament on high notes as they registered impressive wins yesterday at the Iloilo Sports Complex in Iloilo City.
USC’s SBP squad rallied from behind to turn back Ateneo de Iloilo (AdI), 57-43, while the Passerelle team dealt AdI another beating, 61-41.
USC’s SBP team had a horrendous start, falling behind, 4-20, after the first period and was still trailing at halftime, 18-32.
But the Baby Warriors found their groove and got back into the game in third canto behind the efforts of Juan Climaco, whose three three-pointers sliced their deficit to a single point, 38-39.
They then took full control of the game in the last period, which they started with a 15-0 blast that gave them a 53-39 lead with 3:40 remaining.
Joseph Berdin was an immovable force down low and finished with 23 points. Val Deano led AdI with 10.
Meanwhile, USC’s Passerelle team got its game going in the second canto, where it turned a 14-15 deficit into a 30-22 halftime lead.
The Baby Warriors eventually padded their advantage to 14 and cruised to the win. John Galinato led USC with 14 points, including nine in the second quarter when USC broke the game open.
In the other Passerelle game, the University of St. La Salle (USLS) of Bacolod trashed College of St. John’s Roxas (CSJR), 62-32. USLS trampled Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion (CPC) of Roxas, 53-20 in the other SBP division game.
The Visayas Regional Finals will determine who will represent the Visayas at the national finals of the 28th edition of the SBP Passerelle tournament.