UV, Don Bosco set semis showdown

CEBU, Philippines — The University of the Visayas and Don Bosco Technology Center set a semifinals showdown as they cruised to comfortable wins at the close of the classification phase of the SBP division of the 32nd SBP Passerelle Twin tournament backed by Milo at the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Mango avenue campus over the weekend.

UV crushed Southwestern University-Phinma, 62-18, while Don Bosco outgunned USC, 55-29, to grab the second and third seed spots in the semifinals.

Still reeling from its loss to SHS-Ateneo last week, UV vented its ire on the Baby Cobras by zooming to a 22-0 lead after one period. This set the tone for the rest of the game as UV controlled every facet of the match and never gave their opponents any chance to counter. The lead ballooned to 31-4 at halftime and 51-6 after three quarters.

Daniel Padilla led UV anew with 14 points as thirteen players scored for UV. Nicdom Cabañero led SWU-Phinma with nine.

In the other game with the third seed on the line, Don Bosco used a second quarter push to settle the win early. After taking an 11-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, Don Bosco went to Sid Reroma, who took over in the second period with 10 points for a commanding 29-13 halftime lead. USC never recovered after that and now settles for the fourth seed in the playoffs. Reroma’s 10 points led Don Bosco while Alfred Rosal led USC with 10 as well.

At the end of the classification round, SHS-Ateneo is at the top of the standings with a 4-0 record, followed by UV (3-1), Don Bosco (2-2), USC (1-3) and SWU-Phinma (0-4). SHS-Ateneo faces USC while UV and Don Bosco face each other in the other semifinals pairing. The semifinals cast for the Passerelle division was set last week. UV faces USC and SHS-Ateneo plays SWU-Phinma this weekend.The 32nd SBP Passerelle twin tournament backed by Milo is the country’s longest-running nationwide tournament for the Under 15 and Under 12 age groups. It is supported by Rain or Shine Elasto Paints, Chris Sports and SKLZ.

The Cebu champion will qualify for the Visayas Regional Finals which will be played in Iloilo October 7 to 8. The Visayas champion then plays against other regional champions in the national finals in December. (FREEMAN)