Greenies rip Eaglets for Growee cage titles

MANILA, Philippines - La Salle-Greenhills downed archrival Ateneo, 75-59, in sudden death to retain the crown in the Contender division of the Growee-MYBall Metro Invitational tournament at the Marist School in Marikina City recently.

Luccio del Rosario took charge and fired a game-high 24 points as the Greenies survived the Eaglets to keep the 12-to-14-year-old plum.

Del Rosario hit his stride in the second quarter when he unloaded 13 points highlighted by three triples to fuel a 24-11 run that turned a two-point deficit in the opening period to a 35-24 advantage at the break.

The Eaglets tried to fight back behind Dave Ildefonso but failed to get closer than 10 points as the Greenies countered behind del Rosario and Harry Espinosa.

Del Rosario then struck again in the final period, scoring 11 points while Espinosa poured all his seven points in that stretch to help foil the Eaglets.

Del Rosario went on to bag the Finals MVP honors.

La Salle-Greenies made it a double celebration after it beat Ateneo, 59-54, in another winner-take-all showdown to snare the Mini division (9-11 age bracket) championship.

Nico Saubier spearheaded the Greenies’ attack with 12 points while Matthew Concepcion and Julian Jugo contributed 11 each.

Dominic Panlilio made a foul shot with less than a minute remaining that broke a 54-all count and gave La Salle the lead for good.

Diana Lao, brand manager for Growee Syrup, Pediatrica Inc. and Rico Perez and Clarence Aytona of MYBall, Inc. graced the awards rites.

The Greenies, who also swept the two divisions last year, earned outright title berths and twice-to-beat incentives in the finals after completing a 7-0 sweep of the elimination round in both groups.

But the Blue Eaglets forged the two do-or-die contests after a come-from-behind win, 78-74, in the Contender and a 65-61 victory in the Mini finals against the Greenies last week.