USC seeks SBP Passerelle Visayas titles

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — The University of San Carlos (USC) seeks a unique double championship of both the SBP and Passerelle division titles at the Visayas Regional Finals of the BEST SBP Passerelle Twin Tournament backed by Milo at the Iloilo Sports Complex here.

USC is the defending Visayas champion in the SBP division and is seeking a second straight trip to the national finals, while its Passerelle team seeks to score an eighth straight title for Cebu following last 2012 title of the University of the Visayas and the five of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu from 2007 to 2011.

In the SBP division, USC faces regional rivals Ateneo de Iloilo (AdI), University of St. La Salle (USLS)-Bacolod and Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion (CPC) of Roxas.

At last year’s championship game, USC overcame St. John’s Institute of Bacolod then bowed to La Salle Greenhills in the national finals. USC is familiar with AdI and CPC Roxas, having played them in 2012. USLS, though will be a new face.

The Passerelle division is composed of USC, AdI, USLS and St. John’s of Roxas. USC won the Cebu title after a long drought and seeks to maintain Cebu’s domination of the Visayas Under 15 age group.

USC defeated AdI for the CYBL Vismin Goodwill Games championship last summer and is considered a pre-tournament favorite here.

Games will be played today and tomorrow following a single round-robin format for the classification phase. The top two teams of each division face off for the championship in this tournament also supported by RCBC Savings Bank. (PR) (FREEMAN)