BAYUGAN CITY, Agusan del Sur — A worthy experience! This is the remarks of the two teams that clashed in the championship match of the recently concluded Mayor Kim Lope A. Asis Collegiate Invitational Basketball Tournament 2018 when asked about their stint.
Aldin Ayo, the head coach of the Vincare Pharma-University of Sto. Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers and Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba of the Phoenix Fuels Life-University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters, both exclaimed that they learned a lot from each other which they could apply to their respective major tournaments ahead of them.
Ayo and the Growling Tigers which escaped the Webmasters with a thrilling 88-83 win to pocket the P200,000 purse said that they also had lapses that need to be corrected but overall, it was their character that makes them different from their opponents and he is very thankful for the opportunity given to them to play another year and redeem themselves from last year’s heartbreaking defeat against another Cebu-based squad, the University of the Visayas, 89-90.
“It’s same as last year; we have to take advantage of this opportunity for the experiences that we can get leading to the UAAP. We have to gain experience in any tournament that we join that will make us a better team for the UAAP,” said Ayo.
Although frustrated about their last-minute blunders, Alcoseba said that he still credited his team for reaching the championship, but he reiterates that they need to be disciplined and learn from their mistakes against UST.
“Our experience here is that we have to be a disciplined team. It was my first time to see that Frederick (Elombe) shoot a three-pointer which he is not supposed to do. In Cesafi, we should be disciplined and avoid that kind of shot,” said Alcoseba. “It’s about discipline, it’s about maturity, so maybe this kind of tournament, we should learn from this for Cesafi. Our experience here should be used in Cesafi. We had the chance to be the champion, we were two plays away.”
It was a rematch between the Growling Tigers of UAAP and the Webmasters of Cesafi as the latter won their first match in the group stage, 78-71.
The Growling Tigers virtually knew what to do to beat the Webmasters by piling up a 17-point lead, 26-9, in the first period after Marvin Lee led the champion team with a total of 20 points, five of which coming from the arc.
In the second half, the Webmasters fought the Growling Tigers tooth and nail until the final buzzer. Alcoseba’s five managed to bring the ballgame to five deadlocks and grabbed a slim lead, 83-82, with less than 50 seconds left in the final period.
However, eventual tournament MVP Renzo Subido had ice in his veins when he nailed a dagger trey allowing UST to regain the lead at 85-83 with 38 seconds left. UC had the privilege of time to answer Subido’s trey but instead, their big man Elombe attempted a trey perhaps hoping to become the hero for his team but the ball didn’t go in.
Elombe’s blunder was then followed by two crucial turnovers which paved the way for the Growling Tigers to hoist the title.
Subido scored 14 points for UST while Shane Menina led the Webmasters with 24 points. Elombe chipped in 20.
For Mayor Asis, he is very thankful for the teams that granted their invitation to showcase their wares for his people in Bayugan. He said that he and his team are planning for a bigger tournament in the future. “I hope that the next edition of this tournament, we can add more teams, so that we can enjoy basketball more,” said Mayor Asis, who has been organizing the tournament for the past eight years and has become one of the premier basketball tournaments in Mindanao and one of the biggest pre-season tournaments for collegiate teams in the country.