CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles started their National Basketball Training Camp (NBTC) with a, 64-76, defeat in the hands of the unheralded 1San Rafael-Bulacan in the seeding round on Monday, March 18, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Magis Eagles, one of the favorite teams in the NBTC National Finals, had to endure the sloppy start of their redemption campaign after they were bogged down by 21 turnovers.
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At the same time, its team captain and NBTC’s No. 1 player Jared Bahay, only delivered seven points from 3/11 field goals. Bahay added two rebounds, three assists, and two steals in their opening-game defeat in the NBTC.
Bigman RJ Dacalos was the Magis Eagles’ top performer with his double-double game of 15 points and 14 rebounds.
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Fellow big man Ivan Cardenas also had double figures of 10 points, eight boards, one block, and one assist.
Alden Cainglet chipped in eight points, while Jelo Mar Rota and Froilan Maglasang each had six points in their game in the NBTC national finals seeding round opener.
However, the Magis Eagles can bounce back and advance to the next round if they beat Batang Tia-Ong, the National Capital Region (NCR) leg champion at 8 a.m., tomorrow, March 19 at the One E Com gymnasium.
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During their NBTC game on Monday, John Michael Genotiva finished with a double-double game to power 1San Rafael. He had 15 points with 11 boards, while teammate Daryll Santos had 11 points and nine rebounds and Raily Benedict Gonzales added 10 markers.
1San Rafael was leading throughout the game. They erected an 11-point lead, 69-58, in the final period despite the numerous comeback attempts by the Magis Eagles.
They were able to cut the lead to just four, 43-47, at the start of the third period, but 1San Rafael quickly rebuilt their lead to double digits, 56-45, and maintained it until the final buzzer sounded.