SHS-AdC Magis Eagles players huddle up after beating CBSAA in Game 1 of their best-of-three finals series in the Cesafi finals. | Glendale Rosal
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) high school defending champions, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles, drew first blood against the City of Bogo Science and Arts Academy (CBSAA) Trailblazers,66-45, in Game 1 of their Best-of-Three finals series on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022, at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Magis Eagles avenged their Nov.12 defeat, 79-82, against the Trailblazers in their highly-physical game on Sunday. On top of that they ended the historic 10-game winning streak of the Trailblazers by handing the latter their first loss in the entire tournament.
However, their game was marred with double suspensions.
This was after both teams had a commotion in the middle of the second period which led to the ejection of both teams’ assistant coaches in Denzel Sabroso of Bogo and Francis Aoquico of the Magis Eagles.
According to the Cesafi deputy commissioner, Lawyer Boyet Velez, they were considering a suspension and P10,000 fine for both assistant coaches. The Cesafi officials have yet to make a statement regarding the incident.
At the same time, one of the Magis Eagles players’ Alden Cainglet was warned with an unsportsmanlike conduct for being involved in the commotion.
Besides the incident, the Magis Eagles were leading by a wide margin during the game. They led by 22, 33-11 when the incident happened.
The Magis Eagles displayed composure and tough defense that forced the Trailblazers to commit turnovers and missed shots early in the game, resulting in their huge lead at that point of the game.
The defending champions had a huge lead heading into the halftime, 37-17.
Magis Eagles stretches lead
In the second half, the Magis Eagles stretched their lead to 27, 46-19, and maintained it heading into the final period.
The Trailblazers was able to get a bit close by cutting the lead to 18, 45-63, midway in the final period.
However, the Magis Eagles were relentless on both ends of the floor to keep them way ahead against CBSAA until the final buzzer.
Jared Bahay and Michael Asoro led the Magis Eagles with 15 points apiece, while Jelomar Rota added 10 points.
The Trailblazers endured a terrible night with its ace player Lance Sabroso only scoring nine points. Shan Arnejo had six for CBSAA.
Despite the loss, the Trailblazers still have a chance to tie the series and force it into a rubber match in Game 2 on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, at 5:15 PM at the same venue.
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