By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Western Visayas elementary boys’ basketball team completed an impressive come-from-behind victory over Central Luzon, 54-49, to clinch the gold medal in the Palarong Pambansa on July 15, 2024.
Playing catch-up for most of the first three quarters after Central Luzon protected their lead, the Western Visayas hoopers banked on their full-court defensive pressure, helping them claw their way back in the fourth and final quarter.
Central Luzon immediately jumped into the driver’s seat after ending the first frame with a seven-point lead, and continued to score in the paint to protect their cushion heading into the second half.
Just when Central Luzon thought they could sustain their pace, the John Guanco-mentored Western Visayas team, represented by the Saint Robert’s International College of Iloilo, deployed a full-court defense scheme that put the pressure back on Region III.
With the completed defensive stops Region VI earned through their full-court pressure, they slowly got back into the game and also got their three-point shooting going.
At the start of the fourth, Western Visayas quickly pounced on Central Luzon to retake the lead courtesy of their knocked-down treys and free throw conversions generated from their aggressiveness in getting the second-chance points.
However, in the final two minutes of the ball game, Central Luzon snowballed their way to an 8-0 run that trimmed their deficit to just a point, 50-49.
Seeking to gather his wards in the most crucial stretch of the game, coach Guanco called a timeout to restore order and drew up some instructions to his players.
That move then paid off dividends as Western Visayas was able to garner the two most important defensive stops while icing the game with four cold-blooded shots from the charity stripe.
