SHS-Ateneo bags Passerelle title

CEBU, Philippines — In another championship match-up between the blue and green, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles bested the University of the Visayas, 78-67, to bag the Passerelle division championship of the 33rd SBP Passerelle Twin Tournament backed by Milo at the Cebu Sports Institute Saturday.

After losing the SBP title to UV earlier in the season, the Magis Eagles made sure that this title wouldn't slip away, thanks to a game-changing third quarter that set the tone for the rest of the game.

Down 16-23 in the first period, the Magis Eagles saw their chances of winning fade when UV built a 12-point lead at 30-18 midway through the second period.

But Keanne Yu, Joseph Dytian, William Archimedez Allosada combined to slice the deficit then gain the upper hand with a slim 35-34 halftime lead, setting the tone for a big third quarter surge.

With Jared Bahay and Tristan Fuentes leading the way, SHS-Ateneo slowly but surely took control of the game, building a 62-50 lead at the end of the third period. Bahay had 13 points in the quarter, anchored on three triples on 3-for-3 shooting, while Fuentes had eight.

With momentum on its side, the Magis Eagles broke the game wide open in the fourth quarter, building an 18-point lead at 75-57, with 3:42 left in the game. Yu, Bahay, Kurt Laput and Nico Tuadles took turns in scoring for the champions, while in turn shutting down UV. This had broken the backs of the Passerelle Lancers who couldn’t recover from the onslaught.

One clear edge going for the Magis Eagles was their running game that netted 34 fastbreak points against the 20 of UV.

Bahay, who was named MVP of the tournament, led SHS-Ateneo with 15 points, and got balanced support from Fuentes (11), Yu (9), Jhoernel Tangkay (8), Dytian (7) and Laput (7).

Christian Jay Alilin led UV with 16 points as Brian Toring had 12. Franc Gabunada and Jeric Yerro and nine apiece. UV made up for the loss by bagging the Sportsmanship Award in the Passerelle division. SHS-Ateneo won the Sportsmanship Award of the SBP division.

This marks the third straight year that a different school has won the Passerelle championship. USC won it in 2017 while UV did the trick in 2016. The Magis Eagles last won the Passerelle title in 2015. They will now represent Cebu in the Visayas Regional Finals where they face off against the champions of Bacolod, Iloilo and Roxas. (FREEMAN)