Pain was written all over the faces of the UV Baby Lancers after their bitter, 83-88 upset loss to Central Luzon in the Palarong Pambansa secondary boys basketball where Central Visayas is the defending champion. The game was played at the USC gym in downtown Cebu City on Sunday, July 14. | By Glendale Rosal
CEBU CITY, Philippines— Central Visayas (Region 7) faltered in its bid for a back-to-back gold medal finish in the Palarong Pambansa 2024 secondary boys basketball
This was after Central Visayas represented by the University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers lost to Central Luzon (Region 3), 83-88, in the quarterfinals earlier on Sunday, July 14.
It was a heartbreaking loss for Central Visayas which finished the group stage unbeaten in three games.
Before bowing to Central Luzon’s St. Augustine Institute of Pampanga, the Baby Lancers led by as many as 15 points, 30-15, in the opening period.
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UV of head coach Jun Pepito toughened his boys’ defense, forcing Central Luzon to commit multiple turnovers, while converting them into points. They went on to seal the first period of their Palarong Pambansa 2024 basketball match with a 13-point cushion, 33-20.
They maintained their huge lead until the second half when Central Luzon unleashed a huge 13-0 run that tied the game at 33-all.
Both teams then went on a back-and-forth battle resulting to multiple lead changes and deadlocks.
Central Luzon turned the table completely in their favor after finishing the first half with the lead, 49-44.
Central Visayas failed to recover the rest of the way for the painful 5-point setback.
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Last year in the Palarong Pambansa in Marikina City, Central Visayas won the secondary boys basketball title from UV’s Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi) rival, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles led by Jared Bahay.
UV earned the right to represent the region in the Palarong Pambansa 2024 basketball when it won the CVIRAA gold in Cebu City last May, shocking SHS-AdC in the semifinals
This year’s Central Visayas squad was composed of John Dela Torre, Roderick Cambarijan, Kenneth Cole, Kent Castro, Benedict Paca, Cristopel Abellana, John Carl Baring, Jhunrel Dagatan, Marven Ravelo, Chadrich Villorai, Jireh Caro, and Neil John Bernante.
Basketball is one of the most anticipated and most attended sports in the Palarong Pambansa 2024 calendar.