Players from St. Jude Cavite celebrate after beating Cebu’s SHS-AdC Magis Eagles in the NBTC National Finals in Manila. | Screen grab from the live stream.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles bowed out of the NBTC National Finals with a dismal 0-3, win-loss record.
On Wednesday, March 20, the humiliation continued for Cebu’s top high school basketball squad who absorbed their third straight loss in the tournament inflicted by the St. Jude Cavite, 65-70 at the One E Com Center in Manila.
The Magis Eagles were the first tournament favorites to get eliminated in the final 16 of Division 2.
READ: Magis Eagles lose to Batang Tiaong, relegated to Division 2 in NBTC Nat’l Finals
They played against St. Jude Cavite without their star guard and team captain Jared Bahay who was reportedly nursing a shoulder injury.
It was a complete turnaround for the Magis Eagles who reached the semifinals last year at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Alden Cainglet paced the Magis Eagles with his 19-point outing paired with seven rebounds, five steals, and one assist.
Big man Jelo Mar Rota finished with 16 points, seven boards, four assists, and two steals. Nikolas Yu and Josh Go added eight and six points, apiece.
Nexel Aguilo, Rasher Barquin, and Stanley Gicoso underscored Cavite’s balanced scoring with 14, 13, and 12 points, respectively.
Aguilo added four rebounds, two assists, and three steals to be named Player of the Game.
READ: Cesafi: Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles are high school champions anew
The Magis Eagles, like their previous games in the NBTC National Finals were trailing throughout their matchup against St. Jude.
They were behind by as many as 11 points, 49-60, in the third period.
However, they were able to cut their deficit to just one, 63-64, with 1:58 left through the efforts of Ivan Cardenas and Rota.
St. Jude quickly pushed their lead back to three, 66-63, after John Ruba scored a basket from transition.
The Magis Eagles went on to miss crucial shots as Aguilo and Kahnoulie Hassan put the icing on the cake for St. Jude after scoring big baskets effectively sending the Magis Eagles prematurely back to Cebu.