Trace College cannot weather the Storm Riva
Sometimes one
your worst enemy is yourself. In basketball, a win should always be earned and
worked on, it is never given on a silver platter. This is the lesson that the
STI College Olympians learned after losing their opener against the St. Clare
Saints. This time around, the Olympians worked hard, cruised for a while and
then recovered just in time to fashion out a masterful 93 – 64 victory against
the vastly improved Trace College of Los Baños at the STI Academic Center Gym
at the resumption of the 12th NAASCU basketball tournament.
Cedric Ablaza topscored once again
The Olympians
brought back their patented pressure defense which resulted in turnovers for
the Stallions and a 27 point first quarter for the Olympians. Newbie
Paul dela Peña who got elbowed in the eye in the first game led eight
Olympians who scored in the first quarter as he
sank six free throws for six markers.
Centers Maclean Sabellina and Ivan Moreno combined with the vastly
improved Lester Bocablo chipped in four points each to underscore the Olympians
balanced attack.
Maclean Sabellina dunks the ball
The second
quarter saw the Olympians relax a little as they allowed the Stallions to chip in
on their lead. In comes super Forward Cedric Ablaza and Center Elmer Labis Jr. who
each scored five points to address the scoring drought of the Olympians. The Stallions on the other fought back with
Prado and Hilario combining for 11 points to match the Olympians scoring toe to
toe. The Olympians thought the Stallions
would simply melt down but unfortunately, like a bad nightmare the Stallions
kept coming back.
The Stallions
eventually cut down the lead of the Olympians to ten points which prompted
Coach Vic Ycasiano to call a timeout and address the lackadaisical manners of
the Olympians. After the timeout, the Olympians responded with their own kind
of tight defense and a paralyzing pressure defense that made the Stallions turn
the ball over. The Olympians forced the
Stallions into a total of 24 turnovers and most of these were steals led by
Marvin Moraga.
Paul dela Peña scores
By the fourth
quarter, the Olympians simply coasted along as they have erected an
insurmountable thirty point lead. Top scoring for the Blue Eagles were Ablaza who
scored 18 points while Maclean Sabellina and Lester Bocablo had 12 points apiece. The Olympians play the
City University of Pasay next and expect another game similar to this.
Elmer Labis connects
STI COLLEGE (93)
Ablaza 18,
Sabellina 12, Bocablo 12, Dela Peña 10, Labis 9, Moreno 6, Morales 5, Moraga 5,
Riva 4, Ortega 3, Francisco 3, Saldana 2, Ohandja 2, Chavez 2, Lara 0,
TRACE COLLEGE (64)
Hilario 11,
Reyes 9, Rembon 8, Esperanza 6, Sambrano 6,
Prado 6, Tonggal 4, Villamayor 4, Flores 3, Boyles 2, Eleazar 2,
Marqueses 2, Cabrera 1, Perez 0,
27 - 12, 44
- 31, 64 - 47, 93 – 64
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