The second round of the 2016 STI
National Basketball Tournament will commence on March 19, 2016. At this point,
all teams will be playing knock-out games as the remaining 22 teams from Luzon,
Visayas and Mindanao that survived the first round will test the mettle of the
winners from other areas.
THE LUZON REGION
STI COLLEGE SANTA ROSA vs. STI COLLEGE DAGUPAN
In the Luzon Region, the Sweet 16
format is in effect for the sixteen teams that advanced to the second round. On
top of the sixteen teams is the STI College Santa Rosa squad which is the Luzon
top seed with the virtue of their immaculate 4 wins and no loss slate in
topping the Luzon 2 division. The Laguna based Santa Rosa team was averaging 90
points per game and their average winning margin is 40 points. 2015 STI NBT Mythical 5 selectees June Aliparo and Raul Guerrero
leads the Santa Rosa team together with the vastly improved point guard Jhon
Ursua as the triumvirate is averaging a combined 51.5 points per game with
Aliparo averaging 22.5 points per game. In their way to the third round is STI
College Dagupan which garnered the 16th seed in the Luzon standings.
STI College Dagupan will lean on center Christian Cruz and a pair of undersized
forwards in Michael Barrozo and Benjamin Biala.
STI COLLEGE MALOLOS vs. STI COLLEGE SAN JOSE
Coming out second in the Luzon
seeding is STI College Malolos which topped the Luzon 3 division with a similar
4 wins and no loss slate. The Bulacan
based Malolos team had an average of 80 points in scoring and won by a margin
of 28 points against their Luzon 3 counterparts. The big frontline of STI
College Malolos proved to be too much to their opponents as the hulking 6’5
center Kelbert Victoria, the bruising 6’3 forwards in Mark Tamayo, Ralph
Bonifacio and Aram Pujante. Their opponents find it hard to go inside the
Malolos defense that yielded an average of only 50 points. Their opponent, STI College San Jose which
leaned on the all-around brilliance of Davidson Antonio who scored 36 points
against STI College Tuguegarao and 18 against STI College Laoag. The Malolos
big men will need to work extra hard to contain Antonio while the San Jose
defense should work extra hard against the giants of Malolos.
STI COLLEGE GLOBAL CITY vs. STI COLLEGE NAGA
Defending champion STI College
Global City topped the Luzon 1 division after registering three wins and a loss
which was due to a default against STI College Makati. But the Global City
squad still made it to the top since they make their playing do the talking
whenever they are on the court. Led by Mythical 5 selectees Jeanssen Pangilinan
and Mike Sampurna, the Global City squad also relies on its speedy guards
Carlos King and Raymond Veluz. With the graduation of three vital cogs to their
campaign last year, the Taguig based champions have their vastly improved bench
players get quality minutes and at times compete with the best as Carl Manzano,
Kley John Lumelay and rookie Shauwn Sabordo give their share on the offense and
defense in the three wins of the defending champs. Challenging them is Bicol’s
best with the STI College Naga team which is led by their veteran players Bryan
Ronda, Ken Pilapil and rookie Kerwin Importante. The Naga city squad will have
to double their efforts to be able to halt the defending champs this year.
STI COLLEGE CALOOCAN vs. STI COLLEGE TANAY
STI College Caloocan on the other
hand topped the Luzon 4 division with three wins against no losses but ended up
as the seventh seed. Most of the games
that the Caloocan team played were close as they won one game with a solitary
point and another one in overtime. Leading the way for the Caloocan team is
their heady point guard Mark Anthony Abin whose veteran leadership and
excellent quarterbacking led the way for the Caloocan team to be on top of
Luzon 4. Ably backing him up are Aldrin Perez and a bunch of no nonsense
teeners who thrive on defense and translates that to good offense. Their
opponent, Luzon 2 third placers STI College Tanay which booted out STI College
Marikina with after starting 0 -15 in
the first quarter. STI College Tanay is in luck as Caloocan’s topscorer, Ariel
Bautista, will sit out this game after being thrown out in their last
encounter. STI College Tanay will rely
on the heft and Heart of McNeil San Antonio, Nomar Ignacio, Christopher Vidanes
and Donie Onate as the four suddenly came alive in the second half of their
last game to make it to the second round.
STI COLLEGE ORTIGAS-CAINTA vs. STI COLLEGE TANAUAN
STI College Ortigas- Cainta, STI College
Bacoor, STI College Las Pinas and STI College Novaliches comprises the other
higher seeded teams vying for a slot for a third round entry. Vastly improved, STI College Ortigas-Cainta
has added more big men and their full court pressure defense has given them
much wonders. The trio of Van Dam Locsin, Jeffrey Estabillo and Louie Paredes paces
the ORCA back court as the three guards averaged in double figures in their three
wins with a single loss to place second in the Luzon 2 division. Out to challenge
them is Rolyn Morota, Alexander Perez and Reniel Ariate of STI College
Tanauan. This team from Batangas is the
only team not to play in Manila and is a mystery to everyone, expect them to go
all-out. Expect STI College Ortigas-Cainta to go all out with their pressure
defense which they use effectively to make their opponents turn the ball over
and this gives them more opportunities to score. If not they can go inside with
their big men and pound the middle. STI College Tanauan will have their backs on
the wall and would have to play as a team if they want to come out victorious
in this one.
STI COLLEGE BACOOR vs. STI COLLEGE QUEZON AVENUE
STI College Bacoor, Las Pinas and
Novaliches seeded number 5, 6 and 8 respectively share similar stories as the
three teams are bannered mostly by new players with some of them freshmen. STI
College Bacoor is another team relying on its full court pressure defense to
offset their team’s inexperience. They rely on their front court of Gerrald
Tuiroc, Carlo Turla and Joshua Lloter who are ably complemented by the quick
back court tandem of Jerick Dumag and Gian Garcia. In this round the Cavite based Bacoor team
drew STI College Quezon Ave. the lowest seeded team in the Luzon 1 – 4
eliminations. Adrian Mariano, Francis Basco
and the rest of the Quezon Avenue dribblers will have to reach deeper into
their bag of tricks to pull out a win in this match-up to advance to the third
round. Their team has nothing to lose
and everything to gain in this match-up. The Quezon avenue dribblers would have
to find a way to break the vaunted trapping defense of the Bacoor team for them
to stay within striking distance with the Caviteños.
STI COLLEGE LAS PINAS vs. STI COLLEGE MEYCAUAYAN
STI College Las Pinas plays a lot
like the Bacoor team and is slightly younger with their average age of 18
years. The duo of Christopher Jutie and
Dalton Balidoy proved to be the most consistent scorers in this team and will
need to match the effort of their opponents from Meycauayan, Bulacan who are masters
of come from behind wins. STI College Meycauayan relied on their end game
heroics to secure a come from behind win against STI College Munoz-Edsa, a last
second shot to beat STI College Quezon Avenue and lost to STI College Caloocan
in overtime. Jeffrey Bulario and Kent Opena will have their hands full in
containing the Las Pinas team and securing a win. If there is one thing sure,
this game will go down the wire.
STI COLLEGE NOVALICHES vs. STI COLLEGE TAFT
Finally, the 8th seed
and 9th seed match-up is usually the game that sees both teams with
equal chances of winning. Although STI College Taft placed second in Luzon 1
and STI College Novaliches 3rd in Luzon 3, both teams are evenly
matched with no team enjoying a distinct advantage. Look for STI College Novaliches to go to
Joash Rupisan, Kaizz Maiquez and Nesty Taguba for scoring while STI College
Taft will rely mainly on John Amante, Abby Bascara and Patrick Mendoza to lead
their team. In this match-up, statistics will not be a factor but their heart
and will to win will determine the winner.
THE VISAYAS REGION
STI WEST NEGROS UNIVERISTY vs. STI COLLEGE ORMOC
The Visayas second round game is a
repeat of last year’s regional finals with STI West Negros University battling
STI College Ormoc once again. This year, both teams renew their newfound
rivalry as STI College Ormoc emerged on top once again as they beat both STI College
Cebu and STI College Tagbilaran with plenty to spare. Leading the way are two of the four holdovers
from last year’s team, Erwin Seneca and Calvin Ongue as they combine with
rookie Rico Pelarios to try to reverse their fortunes against the best team in
the south – STI West Negros University. Still known as the Mustangs, STI West
Negros will still be bannered by their awesome foursome in Jhan Nermal, Renz Solomon, Kobe Vizcarra
and John Pastias.
THE MINDANAO REGION
STI COLLEGE CAGAYAN DE ORO vs. STI COLLEGE COTABATO
Four teams fight it out in the
regional semifinals in the Mindanao region as STI College Cagayan de Oro took
control of Northern Mindanao, STI College Cotabato solidified its hold of
Western Mindanao, STI College Davao came up on top of Eastern Mindanao and last
year’s Mindanao champion, STI College Koronadal took control of the Southern
Mindanao. This year’s semifinal pairs
STI College Cagayan de Oro against STI College Cotabato. Leading the way for the Cagayanons is one of
the two remaining mainstays of last year’s team , the veteran Edgar Omila who
is joined by seasoned rookies in Rey
Gomez, Kenneth Maagad and Juan Labata. STI College Cotabato on the other hand
will counter with Muhidin Sadin, Al-noor Uba, Bin-Hassan Ayob and Usaman Pasigan
who are all ready to reck havoc on the court.
STI COLLEGE DAVAO vs. STI COLLEGE KORONADAL
The other half of the Regional
semi-finals will pit defending Mindanao champion STI College Koronadal against
surprise semi-finalist STI College Davao.
With most of their veterans graduating, leading the team now is Bernard
Caguisano Jr. and vastly improved Cris Valencia who together with two rookies,
Paulo Soliva and Ricardo Castillo form the four cornered offense of STI College
Koronadal that is complimented by their big men in Kenneth Libdan, Dan Ignacio
and Almer Lopez. The Davaoenos on the other hand will rely on the duo of Eyan
Cabaguio and Roi Parra who ran rings
around their previous opponent. They will be ably supported by Romeo Saplot and
Jacinto Avenido III.
The 2016 STI National Basketball
Tournament second round match-ups prove to be something worth watching. Who
will make it to the third round and to the National finals? Good luck to all
STIers representing their respective schools.
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