By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Central Philippine University (CPU) Golden Lions capped off its magical and undefeated JB Amateur Basketball League (JB ABL) Season III ‘School Wars’ college varsity with a championship title after beating the University of San Agustin (USA) Golden Eagles, 85-76.
CPU headed into the grand finals with a twice-to-beat advantage after finishing the elimination phase with a perfect record after taking down all participating schools including San Agustin during their second game.
The Golden Lions were off to a waxing hot start and immediately established a double-digit lead in the first quarter after going to their signature high-low play with superstar big man Jessie Sullano.
Head coach Mathew Montalvo turned to his reliable center and exposed mismatches in the shaded lane that turned into six first-quarter points.
San Agustin also struggled early from the field and failed to buy a basket for three straight minutes before Erjohn Hermogino erupted to keep the Golden Eagles within striking distance.
Soon as Hermogino checked in, the lanky forward from San Agustin maintained a perfect 3/3 shooting from the field and sparked their run that trimmed CPU’s double-digit lead.
The Golden Lions protected a slim margin after the first half and found themselves in deep trouble after the Golden Eagles quickly retook the lead in the first five minutes of the third quarter.
CPU went into a scoring drought and only sank one basket in the first three minutes of the third frame courtesy of an Elcyd Pascual jump shot.
The game went into a physical dogfight at the start of the final frame when both teams attempted to impose their will in the paint.
When the Golden Lions needed a crucial basket, scoring guard Kevin Barranco answered the call and sucked the life out of the San Agustin fans when he unloaded a personal 8-0 run after draining a difficult fade-away jumper and back-to-back three-pointers.
The Golden Eagles showed signs of life after erasing CPU’s six-point lead and went up with a one-point advantage.
Franc Tono boosted the Golden Eagles with a five-point swing but CPU had answers after Pascual drained a long shot from downtown and Wilmer Dalumpines converted several drives to the basket.
With CPU only leading by a deuce, Dalumpines buried the cold-blooded dagger three-pointer from the right elbow to extend their lead to five.
San Agustin failed to make any baskets in the remaining minute of the game and committed a crucial turnover with 30 seconds left that turned into a three-point fast break play for Victor Demadara.
Pascual was named the JB ABL ‘School Wars’ Most Valuable Player after firing 22 big points including the crucial baskets when CPU made a run in the final canto.
“After high school, successful naman aton college. This is an honor providing an avenue to all schools to get back PRISAA vibe back. Thank you coach Montalvo, Jalipa, thank you man coach Cercado, de los Santos. Thank you players for displaying sportsmanship for the whole 40 minutes. Two more championship games for JB ABL, please support us until we finish,” said commissioner Jayphet Balbacal during an exclusive interview with the Daily Guardian.
