By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Hua Siong College of Iloilo (Iloilo Central Commercial High School) high school alumni basketball squad completed its bounce-back tour in the JB Amateur Basketball League (JB ABL) School Wars II after nabbing the championship title in the HS alumni seniors’ division on March 5, 2024, at the Angelicum School of Iloilo basketball gym.
After a heartbreaking loss to their rival school Iloilo Sun Yat Sen High School during the championship series in the JB ABL School Wars I, Hua Siong entered Season II with a different mindset and carried their dominant run until the grand finals, taking down the University of Iloilo (UI) Wildcats, 75-70.
What made Hua Siong’s run incredible was their regular season campaign where they went perfect in the team standings after raking all of their matches, helping them take a twice-to-beat advantage when they kicked off their playoff round.
In their game against UI, Hua Siong dictated the pace from the get-go as their lethal three-point shooting steered them to an early double-digit lead.
Led by the waxing hot shooting of Karlo Manajero in the early sets, Hua Siong took a comfortable 13-point lead heading into the third quarter.
Picking up where Manajero left off were the duo of Jhon Rey Sumido and Alvin Tolosa who provided the offensive firepower for Hua Siong.
Just when Hua Siong thought that it would be another walk in the park, the Wildcats began to storm back in the fourth set and erased their double-digit deficit to retake the advantage.
However, the Wildcats would only enjoy their lead for seconds as Sumido answered back with a perimeter jumper from the top of the key.
The last set became a nip-and-tuck affair as UI gave their all and scored in several opportunities but Hua Siong’s offensive firepower proved to be too much.
Winning the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) award was Sumido after leading Hua Siong with 19 big points in the championship game.
