The University of San Carlos’ (USC) Passerelle squad cruised to the championship in the Milo-backed BEST Center Twin Tournament after thrashing the University of St. La Salle (USLS) of Bacolod City, 60-39, in the finals of the Visayas Regionals last Sunday at the Iloilo Sports Complex in Iloilo City.
It was a huge win for the under-15 boys of USC as it booked them a slot in the national finals of this competition slated Nov. 23 and 24 in San Fernando, Pampanga.
USC opened the game with a 13-5 lead before John Galinato and Daniel Rodriguez combined for 12 points in the ensuing canto to erect a 31-14 halftime lead.
USLS showed some fight as it narrowed the gap to 10, 23-33, but Kent Malazarte scored on two three-point plays and a jumper then dished out an assist to Marc Ting that allowed USC to pull away for good.
Galinato led USC with 14 points while Malazarte had 12. Jean Jacque Antigua helped the squad with his hustle, finishing with 10 rebounds.
But USC’s Small Basketeers of the Philippines (SBP) squad wasn’t so lucky as it lost to USLS in the championship match, 33-41.
The loss was USC’s second in as many games to the same opponent. The Baby Warriors lost, 43-46, in the final game of the elimination round to USLS before falling into a maze of errors in the endgame that sealed their fate in the finals.