Dragons trounce Red Robins, duel Falcons in PSSBC final

MANILA, Philippines – Chiang Kai Shek College rode on a big third quarter run to defeat NCAA champion Mapua, 92-78, and earn a return trip to the final of the fifth Philippine Secondary Schools Basketball Championship (PSSBC) MEC Networks Cup at the SGS gym in Quezon City over the weekend.

The CKSC Blue Dragons blew a 14-point lead early in the second quarter but exploded for 29 points in the third behind John Galinato, Donn Lim and Jonas Tibayan to regain control. They also held the Red Robins to just 13 points to turn what was expected to be a close contest into a rout.

Making up for a so-so showing in the first two quarters that saw the Red Robins grab a 56-45 halftime lead, Galinato fired 20 points, including a triple that helped spark the team’s early scoring binge in the third.

Tibayan joined the fray, highlighting another backbreaking run with back-to-back inside plays to push Chiang Kai Shek to a 74-59 lead going into the final 10 minutes of play.

The Red Robins tried to make a run of their own but the Blue Dragons thwarted them with clutch baskets to line themselves up to become the first back-to-back champion in the league featuring the country’s top high school teams.

But out to frustrate Chiang Kai Shek’s back-to-back bid in the tournament also sponsored by Hapee Toothpate, Freego, Dickies Underwear, Ironcorn Builders, Blackwater, Poly Gloss Automotive Polyurethane System and Ché Lu Bar & Grill is Adamson.

The Baby Falcons lived up to their billing as the hottest team in the UAAP that saw them sweep their seven-game elims as they turned back the La Salle Greenhills side, 83-77.

With Troy Mallilin on the firing end, the Greenies rallied from a 24-point deficit in the third quarter to close in at 81-77.

But rookie Florencio Serrano came through with a key basket to foil the Greenies’ comeback bid.

Serrano led four Adamson players in double figures with 17 points aside from grabbing eight boards. Mallilin paced the La Salle with a double-double showing of 26 points and 17 boards.

The champion team in the tournament, also backed by Mighty Sports, Choi Garden, Hanabishi, Frabelle Hotdogs, Davies Paints, Molten, and Philippine Airlines, gets the top purse of P50,000.

Interestingly, both Chiang Kai Shek College and Adamson are being handled by Goldwin Monteverde.

They are battling for the title at presstime with Monteverde being reduced to a mere spectator after allowing his assistants for both squads to call the shots.