By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Domination at its finest.
After ruling the JB Amateur Basketball League (JB ABL) 17-Under category, the Mandurriao Cougars repeated its championship feat after reigning supreme in the 15-U category last July 4, 2023, held at the Sta. Clarita International School basketball gym.
Mandurriao once again served as Sta. Clarita’s kryptonite after taking them down in the rubber match of the 15-U category championship game, 72-63, to raise its second-straight championship trophy in just five days.
The Cougars made their victory sweeter after erasing Sta. Clarita’s twice-to-beat advantage and swept them in the championship series, 2-0.
It was a reverse in the 17-U category as Mandurriao was able to protect its twice-to-beat advantage against Sta. Clarita, 61-58, last July 1, 2023, held at the Green Meadows basketball gym, Pavia, Iloilo.
Just like their first game, Sta. Clarita went off to a rousing start and quickly established a double-digit lead after draining several three-pointers while also driving aggressively to the hole.
Sta. Clarita took advantage of Mandurriao’s cold start in the first frame and was rolling in every facet of the game but just when the former ILOPRISAA champions thought they could sustain their high-octane pace, the Cougars countered back and came alive midway through the second quarter to trim their deficit to just a single digit.
Mandurriao then waxed hot in the crucial stretch of the second quarter to pull themselves even with Sta. Clarita, 32-all, and head to the last two quarters with oozing confidence.
Sta. Clarita’s worst nightmare then happened as the Cougars were able to regain their offensive touch matched with their tremendous perimeter defense adjustment.
With their defensive adjustment, Sta. Clarita was only held to 18 points in the third quarter and really struggled to buy a basket from the paint and the three-point line.
The Cougars then smelled blood in the final frame after kicking off the first three minutes with two quick layups and back-to-back perimeter jumpers to establish their momentum in the game.
Sta. Clarita answered with several timely baskets to keep themselves within striking distance but Mandurriao shut the door on them after a defensive clinic in the last two minutes of the game.
During that stretch, the Cougars were able to tally three successful steals and put the cherry on top with two-straight fast-break layups to seal the deal.
Elvis Villagracia was named the JB ABL Finals Most Valuable Player after dropping 21 big points on Sta. Clarita including two huge three-point bombs in the crucial fourth quarter.
“Dako gd nga pasalamat namon because the finals and the JB ABL developmental league successful nga natapos nga tawhay kag labi na gd sa tanan safe ang players. I myself as the commissioner would like to thank all teams that participated including our partnering organizations pra ma bulig ni tigayun. Damo pa ni. We’re just getting started!” said Mr. Jayphet Balbacal, founder and commissioner of the JB ABL in an exclusive interview with the Daily Guardian.
