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| Dowilliam Triste erupted in time as ICCT Colleges notched a second straight finals seat. (ISAA Facebook Page) |
By Ricky Manliguis
La Consolacion College-Manila and ICCT Colleges took care of
their respective semifinal opponents to set up another tasty finals date in Season
15 of the Inter-Scholastic Athletic Association (ISAA) seniors basketball
tournament Sunday at the Trinity University of Asia gym.
The second-seeded Blue Dragons banked on the torrid scoring of Dowilliam
Triste Jr. as it survived third-ranked Immaculada Concepcion College Blue Hawks, 69-58,
to book a return trip to the finals for the second straight season.
Triste exploded in the fourth quarter to finish with a game-high
29 points on 11-of-15 (73%) field goals and 4-of-5 from three-point territory. The
rookie guard also grabbed five rebounds, two steals, and an assist.
Noy Arimado continued his hot form for ICCT with a
double-double haul of 19 markers and 10 boards.
After ICC grabbed a 17-11 first-quarter lead behind usual
suspects Toto Ramirez and AJ Flores, the Blue Dragons regrouped starting the
second quarter behind Triste and Arimado, and kept the Blue Hawks at bay the
rest of the way for the win.
The defense also played a key role in the victory for the Cainta
boys, limiting ICC to just 19% from three-point land (4-of-21) and forcing 21 turnovers.
They also stole the ball 11 times and swatted away five Blue Hawks attempts.
ICCT played without several key players, including backup
guard Jason Santos (out for the rest of the playoffs due to knee soreness), and
big man John Daniel Borja (UTI).
Ramirez led the Blue Hawks, now relegated to the battle for third place, with 18 points and eight rebounds, with Flores adding 16 with eight boards.
In the second game, top seed La
Consolacion stepped on the gas early on to dismantle the #4 PATTS College of
Aeronautics, 82-61, to follow ICCT in the finals bus.
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| Eyle Cordaño steadied the La Consolacion ship all game long as the Blue Royals returns to the finals. (ISAA Facebook page) |
The three-time champs Blue Royals raced to an early 31-20 first-quarter advantage, then had leads as high as 26 enough to likewise return to the finals and keep its four-peat aspirations intact.
Christian Alonzo and JM Urmeneta each cashed in 14 points,
but it was Eyle Cordaño who stabilized the Blue Royals offensive with
across-the-board numbers of 13 markers, six rebounds, two rebounds, and two
assists.
Graduating forward Mark Jayson Morada led PATTS with 14
points and four rebounds before fouling out late in the ballgame. Joshua Bongon
and Aldrich John Lopez both issued 12 markers, while Jon Emmanuel Benitez had
10.
Game 1 of the best-of-three seniors finals will be played in
the LCCM gym in Manila on Wednesday, December 6, at 12 noon, following Game 1
of the juniors finals between the four-peat-seeking LCCM Baby Blue Royals and
the AirLink Baby Blazing Phoenix at 10 am.
THE SCORES:
1ST GAME
ICCT 69 – Triste 29, Arimado 19, Magno 8, Baculio 4, Katipunan
3, Ducot 2, Mapua 2, Martinez 2, Buban 0, Magtulis 0, Pascua 0.
ICC 58—Ramirez 18, Flores 16, Seniedo 11, Delos Santos 4, Paccarangan
3, Dela Cruz 2, Duarte 2, Grado 2, Omaga 0, Monares 0, Vento 0.
QUARTERSCORES: 11-17, 32-30, 52-48, 69-58
2ND GAME
LCCM 82 РAlonzo 14, Urmeneta 14, Corda̱o
13, Antonio 11, Aloro 9, Ober 8, Castillo 6, Valencia 5, Trinidad 2, De Sales
0, Gatbunton 0, Pineda 0.
PATTS 61 –Morada 14, Bongon 12, Lopez 12, Benitez 10, Wahing
6, Carballos 3, Belgado 2, Jamon 2, Butao 0, Alvarez 0.
QUARTERSCORES: 31-20, 45-30, 66-40, 82-61
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