MANILA, Philippines - Chiang Kai Shek College (CKSC) foiled University of Santo Tomas’ bid for an outright quarterfinal seat as it hacked out a 61-60 upset win at the end of the classification phase of the third Freego Filipino-Chinese Basketball League (FCBL) Cup at the Phil. Buddhacare gym in Quezon City over the weekend.
Greg Gimado scored the game winner with five seconds left to help CKSC nail its first win in the annual high school cagefest presented by Smart Communications.
UST actually had the chance to steal the win but Aaron Cabautan missed on a jumper as time expired.
Paul Aduana led CKSC (1-5) with 21 points, including four triples to bag the Energen three-pointer shooter of the game honors.
Joshua Tan added 10 points as he led a stirring 16-0 run in the second period that turned a 17-30 deficit into a 33-30 lead.
Tan’s exploits earned him the Freego Best Player of the Game award in the tournament supported by Mighty Sports, Colt Commercial, Star Galaxy Industrial Fabricator Inc., Powerbest Marketing Inc., Mandarin Sky Seafood and Shabu-Shabu Restaurant, Multimotors Auto Part Inc. and Apple Tape.
JP Sarcia logged 21 points for the Tigers Cubs, who finished their classification phase with a 3-2 mark and were relegated to the knockout wildcard stage.
In other results, Ateneo clinched the No. 1 spot in Group A with a 75-73 squeaker over STI while San Beda (5-0) swept all its games in Group B after routing La Salle Zobel, 102-66.
The Blue Eaglets and Mapua emerged as the top two teams in Group A to advance in the quarterfinals. The Red Cubs and Jose Rizal University (4-1) are the quarterfinalists in the other group.