The Cebuanos will once again have a glimpse of Manny Pacquiao’s hoop skills as the beloved Filipino ring icon suits up for Team Pacman against the M. Lhuillier-backed San Carlos Boys High Alumni Basketball Association (SCBHABA) in the sudden-death finale of the 1st MP Cup Invitational today at the University of San Carlos-Main Gym.
Games today
(USC Main Gym)
2:30 pm SHS-J vs. USC-North Campus
For third
4:00pm CECABA vs. PPSA
Championship
5:30pm SCBHABA vs. Pacman
Team Pacman and SCBHABA will slug it out for the P50,000 grand prize at 5:30 pm, right after Shell-Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association (CECABA) battles Samsung-Punta Princesa Sports Association (PPSA) for the third place honors at 4 pm.
In the 2:30 pm opener, Sacred Heart Shool-Jesuit will go up against the USC-North Campus in a friendly encounter of Cebu’s top SBP teams.
“The hosting of the exhibition game is our own share of helping out youth basketball,” said tournament director Rico S. Navarro. “This will be a rematch between the two finalists of the Cebu Milo BEST Basketball Tournament. SHSJ won the Cebu leg, and later won the Visayas leg. They placed second to Ateneo de Manila in the Milo BEST National Finals.”
Team Pacman, which will also bank on the shooting prowess of Jingjing Rama, advanced into the final after whacking PPSA, 89-75, while SCBHABA booked the other championship ticket after edging out the Chester Cokaliong-led CECABA by the narrowest of margins, 61-60.
Interestingly, Team Pacman and SCBHABA finished second place in the elimination round in their respective brackets. Their positioning gambit paid off as they both made it to the final round.
The awarding ceremony will be done right after the championship showdown. — EBV