UV, USC, SHS-Ateneo rule in CYBL cagefest

CEBU, Philippines – It was a day of nerve-wracking, come-from-behind wins at the finals of the Cebu Youth Basketball League 2015 Season 8 at the Magis Eagles Arena of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu in Barangay Canduman, Mandaue City.

In the Under 10 division finals, the University of the Visayas outhustled the University of San Carlos, 44-41.

In the Division 1 Under 12 finale, USC bounced back to defeat SHS-Ateneo de Cebu in overtime, 53-50, while in the Division 2 Under 18 championship, the SHS-Ateneo de Cebu Passerelle team nipped Salazar Colleges of Science and Institute of Technology, 75-73.

UV went to the red-hot shooting of Juliano Aragon, who poured in 10 of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter to score its third straight Under 10 title.

UV trailed from the start, 10-15 after the first quarter, 18-23 at halftime and 30-34 at the end of the third quarter. Aragon then combined with Daniel Padilla to finally give UV the lead while USC couldn’t find its shooting touch in the end game.

Padilla added 14 points to support Aragon. Sid Reroma led USC with 24 points but was limited to two points in the fourth quarter.

USC made up for its tough loss in the Under 10 division with a morale-boosting win in the Division 1’s Under 12 age group. USC also trailed throughout the match 10-12 and 17-26 after two quarters. They rallied to within two 35-37 after three quarters but found themselves staring at a 36-45 deficit with two minutes left in the game.

USC was rejuvenated and went on a 9-0 tear to send the game into overtime. Reinhard Jumamoy capped the rally with a running jumper down the left side to tie the game at 45-all and send the game into overtime.

USC took the initiative in overtime streaking to a 51-46 lead before Aldrich Alvez made a triple to slice the lead to 49-51. Aaron Abunawan split his free throws to cut the lead to 50-51 with 46 seconds left. Stephen Cortes nailed two free throws with 24 ticks left for the final tally, 53-50.

Cortes led USC with 13 points as Jumamoy chipped in 12. Robert Mayam led SHS-Ateneo with eight.

In the Division 2 Under 18 final, SHS-Ateneo banked on a torrid fourth quarter shooting rally to score the big win. Down 7-16, 17-26 and 46-51 after three quarters, the Magis Eagles dug deep and clawed their way back midway through the fourth quarter, tying the game for the first time at 71-all. They were down by as many as 16 points in the second period.

After John Aguilar gave SHS-AdC a 73-71 lead on two free throws with 20 seconds left, SCSIT’s Bobcarsten Butal tied the game at 73-all, 10 seconds left.

In the return play Carlos Canoy went hard to the basket and was fouled in the act of shooting with no time left on the clock. Canoy then calmly made both charities for the final score.

Aguilar had 13 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter to lead the endgame rally. Joseph Gagasan led SCSIT with 20 points.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Deputy Executive Director Bernie Atienza was on hand to present the trophies to the winning teams. He was joined by FIBA Commissioner Hector Villanueva, Jomar Benedicto and Bujoy Magno. (FREEMAN)