UNIVERSITY of Cebu proved to be the best of the lot after topping the Under Armour 3×3 U18 basketball national tournament with a close 21-20 overtime win over Bounty A in the championship round at the BGC’s Titan Court in Taguig, City over the weekend.
Allen Dave Peregrino’s free throw served as the marginal point that gave the victory to the Webmasters, who also won the Cebu leg of this tournament sanctioned by the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas.
Interestingly, Bounty A placed only second to Bounty B in the Manila leg, 14-16. Escuela de Sophia defeated Philippine Christian University to place third.
After the Manila leg, Bounty B joined Bounty A, Escuela de Sophia and UC in the final four pocket tournament.
The Cebu-based Webmasters joined the top three teams in the Manila leg for the pocket tournament to determine the best of them all.
“Sobrang saya kasi unang game namin ito sa Manila at nabigyan agad kami ng panalo ng Panginoong Diyos,” said UC member John Bryl Cuyos, who teamed up with John Emmanuel Bautista, Virlou Orquez and Pelegrino in their quest for a slot in the national pool that will be sent to the FIBA Asia 3×3 event in Malaysia.
The event, supported by PDI and Business Mirror, with event partners Gatorade, Wilson, Crystal Clear, De Los Santos Medical and Innewvation, aims to select players who will compose the national team to the FIBA 3×3 U18 Asia Cup from May 26 to 28 at the Cyberjaya Gem-In Mall in Malaysia.
A total of 42 teams competed in the Under-18 category, while 24 teams slugged it out in the Open division, which was won by EGS Elite at the expense of MIT Bazinga, 18-13. With reports from Cecil Labon