Eagles secure second straight Passerelle title

As the saying goes, when one door is closed, another one is opened. For the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles, when their door to the juniors championship in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc.  was shut, their path for a repeat in the 2011 Milo-backed BEST Twin Tournament was paved.

And they walked proud and tall yesterday as they claimed a second straight crown in the Passerelle division as the Magis Eagles routed the Holy Child School of Davao, 65-43, in the championship game at the Xavier School gym here in San Juan City.

Using the pain of their title loss to the University of the Visayas Baby Lancers as motivation, the Magis Eagles took on all comers and reigned supreme when it mattered the most.

At first, they struggled shaking off the Reds as they led by just one, 12-11, after the first period, no thanks to the shooting of Vincent Fernandez who had all nine of his points during that stretch.

However, it did not take long for the Magis Eagles to find their rhythm which was instantly provided by guards Jair  Igna and Jarek Mercado. Igna shot in two three-pointers while Mercado contributed heavily from the perimeter which enabled the Magis Eagles to take a 34-28 into halftime.

The dam finally broke in the third as Ateneo de Cebu overwhelmed its opponents in the third period courtesy of a 19-6 rally that established a 53-34 lead.

Rookie sensation Jan Jaboneta teamed up with crafty point guard Rendell Senining for several baskets that gradually broke the backs of the Reds.

Jaboneta put an exclamation run to that run of theirs as he scored on a layup at the buzzer off a nice feed from Miguel Competente.

Jaboneta added two more baskets in the fourth periods that gave Ateneo de Cebu their biggest lead at 25, 60-35.

Igna led the way for the Eagles with 12 while Jaboneta added 11. Mercado chipped in with 10. Senining had a fine game quarterbacking the squad with six assists.