ALL USC SHOW IN CYBL
It was an all USC show at the Cebu Youth Basketball League (CYBL) Championship Sunday as the sister schools from the North and South Campuses scored contrasting wins to bag the Mini and Midget division championships of the CYBL-Hapee Cup.
USC South controlled most of the game, succumbed to a spirited rally, only to recover just in time defeat the University of Cebu, 77-72 in overtime to win the Midget division championship. In the Mini division, USC North scored a dramatic come-from-behind win over the Sacred Heart School Jesuit, 46-41 to complete a perfect run to the championship.
USC South went to their full-court trap from the onset to control the first half of the game, controlling the first quarter 24-13, and enjoying a 35-23 lead at the half. Joven Sepe and Dominic Nazareno took over in the first quarter while Jake Gabuya took care of the second period. UC, however, bounced back with a strong third quarter behind Roger Pogoy’s eight points, closing the gap to 41-44 at the end of the third period. This set the stage for a nerve-wracking fourth quarter where UC rallied from behind to send the game to overtime. UC cut the lead down two points twice at 49-51 and 56-58 with 40 seconds remaining in the game. Christian Taboada completed the rally, registering the only tie of the game at 58-all with an outside jumper with 20 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
USC South immediately went to their full-court trap to start out the overtime with a 6-2 run, capped by an offensive foul on Taboada and a UC turnover. UC moved to within three at 63-66, but Dominic Nazareno replied with a lay-up to give USC South a 68-63 lead, with 1:45 left in the game. And just as Roger Pogoy pushed UC to 64-68, MVP Jake Gabuya drilled a triple and a scored on a lay-up to give USC South a comfortable 73-64 lead with 1:10 left.
Gabuya led USC South with 21 points including 13 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Sepe chipped in 16. Pogoy led UC with 22 points while Taboada added 12.
The USC South Midget team whoops it up after a heart-thumping overtime win over UC.
In the Mini division, USC North rallied from a 14-point third quarter deficit to complete a sweep of all their games in the league. SHSJ was in control of the game and was headed for a victory, leading 39-25 at the start of the fourth quarter. USC then went to their vaunted full-court trapping and limited SHSJ to only two free throws in the pay-off period. The Warriors scored 16 unanswered points to take a 41-40 lead, 2:44 left in the game. SHSJ scored its first point of the fourth period with 2:17 left in the game. John Pajantoy made up for a lackluster second quarter performance by ripping the SHSJ defense with 15 of his 18 points in the final period alone.
The USC Mini Team celebrate their CYBL championship. At the back is Hapee's Jack Huang who awarded the trophy.
Pajantoy led USC North with 18 points while Rey Arnejo added 10. Adrian Muller and Reggie Abbu combined for 24 points to lead SHSJ.
The CYBL is a developmental league that was established and designed to provide a venue for basketball activities for teams in the Under 15 and Under 12 age groups. The next activity will be the CYBL Summer League 2008 in May. The CYBL-Hapee Cup is also supported by Crunchicken.
Box scores:
Midget Division Championship
USC SC (77) – Gabuya 21, Sepe 16, Dom Nazareno 11, Da Nazareno 5, Belocura 4, Nacua 4, A.Nazareno 3, Juanico 3, Bacaltos 2, Batancela 2, Jagupit 2, Petano 2.
UC (72) – Pogoy 22, Taboada 12, Aranas 8, Palileo 7, Labolabo 4, Selana 4, del Rosario 3, Castro 2, Ampoon 2, Mohammad 1, Bayno 1, Ybanez 1.
Quarterscores:24-13, 35-23, 44-41, 58-58 (Reg), 77-72.
Mini Division Championship
USC SC (46) – Pajantoy 18, Arnejo 10, Gacrama 8, Plenos 6, Remedio 2, Ponce 2.
SHSJ (41) – Muller 13, Abbu 11, Araw-araw 7, K.Lim 4, A.Lim 2, Yu 2, Chua 2.
Quarterscores: 8-12, 11-28, 25-39, 46-41.
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