USC shoots for SBP title

CEBU, Philippines - It will be a clash between the powerhouse and the pesky upstarts-cum-underdogs when the University of San Carlos (USC) faces the University of the Visayas (UV) for the championship of the Small Basketeers Philippines division of the BEST SBP Passerelle Twin Tournament sponsored by Milo at the USC-North Campus gym today.

USC has been on fire for the past two years, going undefeated in both the Cebu and Visayas legs of the tournament, and only losing once, when they bowed to La Salle Greenhills at the 2012 national finals.

For this year’s Cebu leg, they have outscored their opponents by an average of 30 points. The Baby Warriors have scored 54 points a game and have limited their opponents to 24 points per game. Their offense is well spread among big man Joseph Berdin, the slashing Antonio Czar Octaviano, Joshua Canoy, Deanmark Rodina and pointguard ZJ Enriquez.  While their offense is almost unstoppable, they also have a unique mix of height and quickness to stop the offense of other teams.

In their elimination round, USC won over UV, 47-25. USC is seeking its second straight championship of the schoolyear after winning the gold medal at the recent Milo Little Olympics Regional Finals last Sunday.

Despite going into the game as underdogs and the smaller team, the UV side has proven that they have bloomed into a team that can score an upset. They make up for their lack of ceiling and heft through quickness, outside shooting and their big hearts. Jose Zaldy Dizon leads UV scoring with his outside sniping, while Prince Soquiño and Steve Nash Enriquez orchestrate the offense and launch daredevil drives for points. Lester Bas and Mark EJ Dumandan will lead the frontline against the bigger Warriors side, but will rely on their inside quickness for offense.

In the game for third place, Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC) will take on the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu. DBTC seeks as repeat of its close 24-22 win over the Magis Eagles in the elimination, while the latter is looking for payback.

Today also marks the start of the CYBL D-League, the tournament that features some 40 teams in three age groups (Under 10, 12 and 15).  (PR)

The SBP champion will represent Cebu at the Visayas Regional Finals, which will be held in Iloilo on October 13-14. USC is seeking back-to-back titles at both the Cebu and Visayas levels, but UV is also hungry for its first ever SBP title.

The biggest and longest running tournament of the Milo-backed BEST Center is also held in cooperation with RCBC Savings Bank.  (FREEMAN)