Doves clobber Jaguars, cop 6th NCRAA crown

The St. Francis of Assisi Doves, with 6-foot-8 slotman Ervin Sotto cheering them on at the sidelines, subdued the Philippine School of Business Administration Jaguars, 62-53, to keep the men’s basketball title in the 11th National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA) championships at the Pasay Sports Complex.

The other half of the Doves‚ vaunted twin towers–the 6-foot-5 Ranidel de Ocampo–delivered 16 points and capped a decisive 11-3 second quarter run with a three-point play.

This enabled the Doves to take charge for good with a 30-18 advantage and sent the Gabby Velasco-coached St. Francis on its way to a fourth straight NCRAA crown and sixth overall with a 37-25 halftime edge.

Al Vergara showed the way with 19 points as the Doves swept their best-of-three finals series at 2-0.

La Salle-Manila forced a decisive Game 3 in the women’s side with a 62-59 stopping of Lyceum. Jan Michelle Laureola hit seven points, including the three winning charities with 16 seconds to go. Aimee Manosca led with 23 points.

In the junior finals, Jerico Puno banged in 29 points, including two big baskets with 15.3 seconds, which carried defending champion Colegio de San Lorenzo to an 87-80 overtime triumph over San Sebastian College of Cavite and a tie at 1-1 in championship contest.

So awesome were the Doves’ offensive clout at the end of the first half that Sotto found no more need to voluntarily suit up for his team when he finally showed for St. Francis in Game 2. The pro-bound Sotto, who was a no-show with the Doves since December, missed Game 1 the other day when St. Francis came off with a 98-62 beating of the Jaguars.

He drew the ire of Doves coach Gabby Velasco for neglecting his practices with the team and prioritizing his scrimmages with the Welcoat Paintmasters, who are about to face Fash Liquid Detergent in the PBL Platinum Cup finals.

As a consequence, Sotto lost a chance of becoming a member of the Mythical Five. Jaguar cager Al Federiso took over Sotto’s place next to De Ocampo, who wound up the season MVP, his third straight.

Also named in the Mythical Five were Vergara, PSBA’s Jonathan Tarronas and St. Francis’ Lawrence Bonus.

Vergara’s two triples with 2:34 to go saw St. Francis taking a 54-35 spread.

"We’re aware that the other team is hungry. But we did not allow them to dominate because we are also hungry for a fourth straight title," said Velasco.

Randolf Enrera topscored for 28 points as the St. Francis Dovelets ended up third with a 92-91 win over Olivarez High School in the junior side while Polytechnic University of the Philippines emerged No. 3 in the women’s matches following a 74-54 verdict over Philippine Maritime Institute.