Holy Child-Davao hands Recoletos first loss in SBP

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Holy Child School of Davao handed University of San Jose Recoletos its first loss in the Under-17 category with an 86-74 win in the preliminary round of the SBP National Junior Championships here at the University of San Carlos gymnasium.

Hergogenes Maning led the Crusaders’ balanced attack with 23 points to give the Davao-based team its first victory after absorbing back-to-back losses in the tournament.

Joshua Aguilon added 19 markers while Ian Flaviano and team captain Marvin Bonleon Jr. chipped in 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Arlister Escatron led the Jaguars with 19 while Rex Bono added 15 for the Cebu-based squad, which posted two impressive wins against Divine Word Academy (102-78) and Sacred Heart Lucena (78-61) to emerge as the team to beat in the Under-17 division.

But against the Holy Child, USJR had no solution to the Crusaders’ up-tempo game behind Maning and Aguilon to finally barge in the win column after 0-2 start of the event organized by the SBP to identify future talents for the national pool.

In other Under-17 matches, Sacred Heart Lucena also scored its first victory over Divine Word Academy of Dagupan, 78-73, in a battle of two teams from Luzon.

Jhan Calvin Cacao and Nichole Trinidad combined for 52 points for Sacred Heart to improve its mark to 1-2 while handing the team from Dagupan its second straight defeat.

St. Clare College, meanwhile, turned back Iloilo Central Commercial High School in overtime, 83-80, in a battle of unbeaten teams.

St. Clare now holds the top spot in the Under-17 division with 3-0 win-loss mark while the Iloilo-based team absorbed its first defeat after a 2-0 start in the tournament.

In the Under-19 matches, Fatima College notched its second straight win against Ateneo de Zamboanga, 72-60, while University of Visayas bounced back from its opening day loss to Fatima after beating host school University of San Carlos.