The STI College Olympians staved off elimination once again as they got back at their two time tormentor this season, the University of Manila Hawks 70 – 58. This time it was veteran Macky Macabasco’s turn to shine and put his gears up a notch as he presided over the run and gun game of the Olympians. Macabasco scored a team best 15 points but the most important thing he did was point the team to victory. Macabasco has been the missing veteran in the previous STI losses and it was just right for him to bounce back in an all important game.
Cedric Ablaza on the defense
The Olympians finally started strong in this game as their defense made it hard for the Hawks to score. STI gave the Hawks a neat lesson on defense as they stymied the UM gunners and coasted to a 23 -8 first quarter lead. The Olympians would further increase their lead by the half as Norman Ihalas beat the buzzer again for a 41 – 23 halftime lead for the Olympians. That in itself was enough cushion for the team in yellow as the team in green tried to bounce back.
Jong Cariño on the drive
The third quarter saw the Hawks come back as their main men, forward John Matubang and point guard Jeff Viernes went to work as the Hawks clawed back to put the lead down to 10. Unfortunately for them, the Olympians regrouped and went to various players to address the UM rampage. The Olympians needed another spark as the Hawks closed the gap to 10, 50 -40 in the third. Then defensive point guard Jen Reyes scored 5 straight points which gave Team STI another breathing room. Then it was all downhill for the Hawks.
One of the crucial things the Hawks missed out were three Unsportsmanlike fouls called on them. The Hawks were caught either sticking an elbow, giving a bad hit on an Olympian and other unsportsmanlike stuff that yielded six free throws and three ball possessions. The Olympians on the other hand failed to capitalize as they turned the ball over and shot miserably from the foul line. The third and fourth quarter was a test of who shoots better from the free throw line, incidentally STI missed 20 free throws. The game got ugly and even after the Olympians have won, the Hawks did not even bother to shake hands with their tormentors. In the other final four match up, the fourth seeded Lyceum of Subic beat #1 seed San Sebastian College Cavite. It was the first time in the NAASCU that the number one seeded team fell to the fourth seeded team. STI and Lyceum lives to fight another day, see you all on Monday at 12:30 pm..
Cedric Scores
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