Magis Eagles claw back from 12 points down to beat Fil-Am Sports USA; SLC-C ousted

Pasay — With their semifinal hopes hanging in the balance, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles buckled down on defense and used their ferocity on that end to rally from a 12-point deficit and bring down the mighty Fil-Am Sports USA, 65-55, in the Division 1 action of the SM NBTC League National High School Championship yesterday at the Palm Coast Marina here.

Wily point guard Travis Mantua quarterbacked the Magis Eagles with precision as he ended up with a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. He had half of his points in the final canto including a nifty left-handed lay-up and a booming corner three that widened the gap to 61-53, just when Team USA closed to 53-54.

Eroll Pastor had 10 points and 13 rebounds while Alex Visser added 10 points and six boards as the Magis Eagles advanced to the semifinal round, which will be played today.

The win made up for the Magis Eagles’ 59-76 loss to San Beda Monday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Magis Eagles were every bit determined to even the score against the team that booted them from the tournament last year as they briefly took the lead, 44-43, at the halfway point of the third period behind a 10-point flurry fueled by the energetic plays of reserve big man Michael Cutamora.

However, that proved to be the last hurrah for the Cebuanos as they ended that stretch in disastrous fashion.

San Beda also advanced to the semis for Group A. The other two semifinalists from Group B have yet to be determined as of press time.
SLC-C eliminated

Meanwhile, Cebu’s representatives in Division 2, the St. Louis College-Cebu (SLC-C) Cardinals, got ousted after suffering a 46-54 loss to Kidapawan.

Andrey Abeneneza scored 15 points but the Cardinals struggled mightily with the measly four-point showing of Matthew Paras.

The Cardinals failed to win a single game in their stint in the National Championships. SLC-C also lost to Cavite and Olongapo.