UC, Bogo bag titles in Cebu Friendship Invitational hoop

The University of Cebu Baby Webmasters gather at center court after receiving the championship trophy in the Under-17 division of the Cebu Friendship Invitational Basketball Cup 2016 last Wednesday night at the Cebu Coliseum. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)

THE University of Cebu (UC) Baby Webmasters gave the Malaysia-based Sarawak Under-17 Eagles a neat lesson in basketball as they chalked up a 78-48 rout to capture the U-17 crown of the Cebu Friendship Invitational Basketball Cup 2016 last Wednesday night at the Cebu Coliseum.

In the men’s division, Team Bogo City went home with the championship trophy, banking on its height and heft advantage to nip SG/ARQ Builders, 65-57.

Sarawak’s men’s team salvaged third place honors with an 81-69 win over the University of San Carlos Warriors.

The Baby Webmasters took a slim 16-14 lead after the first period but Froilan Mangubat caught fire and keyed a 22-9 bomb that triggered UC’s break-away.

UC poured it on in the third as it cruised to a huge 56-32 lead with one quarter to play.

Though the two Malaysian teams fell short, Cebuano coach Britt Reroma said the competition will serve them well in the future.

“UC played harder, tougher, fast-paced and very organized both in offense and defense. We really learned something from this experience and hopefully we can translate that into championship in Malaysia,” Reroma said.

Mangubat, who went home with the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, and Luigi Gabisan led UC with 17 points each. Kyle Ordeneza pitched in 11 markers.

David Ho paced Sarawak with 10 markers.

Bogo, on the other hand, snatched the men’s division title behind William McAlloney, who scored 18 points.

Mali Naimbili Bourama, who collared the MVP award, cashed in 14 points while Mico Pacheco contributed 12.