DAVAO CITY , Philippines – Ateneo de Davao University leaned on Joseph Conrad Fernando and Eric Matthew Cabigas as the Blue Knights rolled past the John Paul College II side, 87-81, in the Liga Dabaw First Conference basketball tournament at the Davao City Recreation Center last Sunday.
The 6-5 Fernando fired a game-high 22 points, including four triples, while Cabigas added 18 points for the Blue Knights, who evened their card to 1-1 in the collegiate division.
Harly Garcia scored 14 points to lead John Paul, which briefly led in the first half but reeled back as Fernando and Cabigas started to impose their will inside the paint.
In the other game, Montana Pawnshop crushed Sanman, 102-84, in a commercial division showdown.
Liga Dabaw secretary general Butch Ramirez said the league is not only a sports project to give basketball a major boost in Davao, but also an undertaking with a social commitment.
Ramirez said the Liga Dabaw Board of Trustees led by its chairman, businessman and sportsman Guillermo Torres Jr., will identify poor children and then give them education out of the revenues they are going to generate from the league. So far, the board had identified some 40 kids as the first batch of beneficiaries.
“We should give these kids education and allow sports to break the cycle of poverty,” Ramirez said.
Liga Dabaw is sanctioned by the Samahang Basetbol ng Pilipinas Region 11 headed by its director Regino Cua, who also gave P50,000 as his contribution to the league.