By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Central Philippine University (CPU) Golden Lions moved a win away from clinching the ILOPRISAA men’s tertiary basketball championship after taking Game 1, 69-60, over the University of San Agustin Golden Eagles on April 10, 2024, at the University of San Agustin basketball gym in Iloilo City.
In the exact place and situation when they triumphed during last year’s ILOPRISAA men’s hoops tourney, the Golden Lions immediately showed what they are made of as their championship experience and chemistry rose in the most perfect time in the finals series.
The Golden Lions scored a wire-to-wire victory, taking all four quarters from the Golden Eagles while also taking full control of the tempo of the game.
CPU kicked off their title defense slowly, only scoring 14 points after the first quarter to build a six-point lead heading into the next frame.
Their pace then turned up in the second as main gunner Wilmer Dalumpines once again displayed his dazzling array of offensive moves that were too much to handle for San Agustin.
After two quarters, the Golden Lions still led, 33-26, and entered the second half with the same mentality of locking up the opponent’s perimeter.
However, just when CPU thought they already figured San Agustin out, the Golden Eagles showed they still had enough gas left in the tank after staging a gutsy comeback to retake the lead midway through the third.
A PJ Brazileño three-pointer put the whole Augustinian crowd on their feet to put the Golden Eagles back in the driver’s seat.
With so much ILOPRISAA championship experience in CPU, they made timely adjustments to cool down San Agustin’s momentum by going back to their usual huge lineup.
As Dalumpines once again caught fire while Jesse Sullano sinking wide-open deuces underneath the rim, the Golden Lions once again snatched the lead and were firing from all cylinders in the fourth and final quarter.
Unfortunately for San Agustin, they entered a scoring drought while also giving up tons of unforced errors which resulted in several breakaway conversions for the Golden Lions.
The Golden Eagles will look to even the series today, at 4:30 PM in Game 2 of the finals to be played at the University of San Agustin basketball gym.
Can CPU close out the championship series and sweep the Golden Eagles to hail themselves as back-to-back ILOPRISAA tertiary hoops kings?
