STI College Santa Rosa completes their drive for five

The champions with the Five sign 

A lot of basketball purists say the first title in any basketball tournament is usually the hardest because it is the culmination of many hard decisions, countless sacrifices and remarkable choices that are made to create a winning team. Doing it all over again is quite easier, if you have all the pieces together but doing it all over again with different people is like starting all over again. In a nutshell, that is the story of the STI College Santa Rosa basketball program which, through the years, has metamorphosed into a model of consistency when it comes to basketball. What this team has accomplished will be the benchmark in which all future STI teams will be measured with.  As the 14th STI Basketball tournament comes to an end, the STI College Santa Rosa team added another story to their legendary run as they beat the STI College Global City team 85 - 68 at the fabled Rizal Memorial Coliseum to capture their fifth consecutive crown.

Jan Almoro's undergoal stab

The Global City squad started the game by employing their own suffocating defense to frustrate the Laguna -based Santa Rosa team.  Unlike in Game 1 when their defense was nowhere to be found, and their offensive patterns were in quelled by the Santa Rosa defense, the Taguig-based challengers seem to be more focused and more prepared as they disrupted the Santa Rosa offense that have the defending champions take careless shots that resulted in missed baskets.

Robert Salazar scores on the fastbreak

Unfortunately for the Global City team, their good defense went for naught as the Santa Rosa dribblers got the offensive rebounds from the missed shots they made and more importantly scored on those occasions. Just like in Game 1, the Global City offense got frozen as the Taguig boys missed four straight free throws that gave Santa Rosa an early 6 – 0 lead that made Coach RK Morales call a timeout.  After the timeout STI College Global City finally ran better offensive patterns that resulted in made baskets for them. STI College Santa Rosa then fought back as second year forward Jan Almoro waxed hot to score nine first quarter points to give the defending champions a 25 -12 first quarter lead.

Arjay Napeñas on the drive

The next two quarters were just the same as STI College Santa Rosa went full blast with its high octane offense and stingy defense by outscoring their opponents 40 – 35 in the next two quarters. Although their defense was much more improved, the Global City offense can’t seem to get going as ace gunner Jim Lontoc had a hard time finding his shot which resulted in a 7 point output. Forward Mike Sampurna and Center Arjay Napeñas carried the fight for the Global City team as Sampurna scored 8 points in the second quarter while Napeñas had 11 third quarter points which came mostly on inside plays. 

The tight defense on Jim Lontoc

The team from Taguig came up with good plays but can’t seem to put the Santa Rosa lead down to single digits.  Every time the Global City team would make a run, the Santa Rosa team would eventually answer back with a run of their own.  In the fourth quarter, Jan Almoro dealt the killer blows as he scattered 8 more points enroute to a 23 point game to crush all the rally hopes of the STI College Global City team that ended their amazing run in this year's STI Basketball showdown. With still a minute left and the Santa Rosa team comfortably ahead, the Global City squad threw in the towel by fielding in their third stringers as a sign of respect to the champs. The STI College Santa Rosa basketball team are champions once again for the fifth straight year.

Mike Sampurna scores two

This year’s MVP is STI College Santa Rosa's do-it-all forward Jan  Almoro who had a tournament high of 423.5 statistical points. As if the gods planned it, Almoro saved his best performance in the final game of the season as he added 9 rebounds, an assist and a steal to go along with his 23 points.  Almoro was joined by co-forward Addis Lizen (411.50 SP), guards Norbert Peña (381.00 SP) and Raul Guerrero (372.00 SP), and center Arjay Napeñas (353.00 SP) of Global City in the Mythical 5.  The statistical points came from the points, rebounds, assists, steals and block shots of the players with bonus points on coming from wins.

Dan Mamaed lays it in

In the five years that the STI College Santa Rosa team won their titles they had a total of 41 players playing for them. Twenty went on to witness one title win including 2010 MVP Winston Balmaceda, fourteen played in two title runs that had 2011 MVP Aries Santos playing on both squads, three got to play for a grand slam team which included 2012 MVP Ruzzel Parala, another three played in their four-peat team last year which was the last year of 2013 MVP Mark Arzola and only Reb Dimaunahan played in all five of those title romps.  This just shows the consistency of the Santa Rosa team.

Raul Guerrero scores on this fastbreak

Congratulations to Coach Leo Callado who has recruited quality talent that he molded and motivated in the past five years to come out with the best team in the STI Basketball showdown five years and running. This just shows his dedication to excellence which is an STI trait. Congratulations also to the management of STI College Santa Rosa namely Mr. Tony and Bess del Carmen and Mr. Bien del Carmen. To the Global City squad, all good teams go through what you have gone through and we hope this finals experience will help spark your competitive spirit that will make you aim higher next time around.

The 14th STI Basketball Showdown MVP

In the battle for third place, John Marcelo, Abram Pineda, Sherwin Sayo and Ralph Bonifacio all scored in double figures to lead the STI College Malolos to an 82 – 58 win over the overachieving STI College Fairview team.  The Regalado based cagers were led by their center Renz Galvez who scored 19 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.  This is the second time in three years that STI College Malolos placed third.

The Mythical Five: Jan Almoro, Norbert Peña, 

Raul Guerrero, Addis Lizen, 

Not in picture is Arjay Napeñas

The Scores:

First Game

STI COLLEGE MALOLOS (82)

Marcelo 19,  Pineda 14, Bonifacio 14, Sayo 12, Cruz 7, Jimenez 4, Hernandez 4, Latagan 3, Gatchalian 3, Victoria 2, Panopio 0, Angeles 0, Ecleo 0,

STI COLLEGE FAIRVIEW (58)

Galvez 19, Eli 11, Arangel 9, Gustilo 4, Brillantes 4, Colcol 4, Inojales 4, Sanggacala 2, Labanon 1, Avenir 0, Esteban 0, Ontal 0

Quarter scores:  19 – 15,  43 – 29, 64 – 40, 82 - 58

Second Game

STI COLLEGE SANTA ROSA (85)

Almoro 23, Guerrero 14, Salazar 14, Lizen 10, Mamaed 7, Peña 6, Batiquin 4, Aliparo 4, Romero 3, Ursua 0, Sabino 0, Geli 0, Maunahan 0, Fudotan 0, Caraan 0,

STI COLLEGE GLOBAL CITY (68)

Napeñas 17, Sampurna 12, Bernal 8, Lontoc 7, Bungar 6, Carlos 5, Pangilinan 4, Natividad 4, Abuy 3, Gubat 2, Norte 0, Baldoza 0, Delabajan 0, Sultan 0

Quarter scores:  25 - 12, 46 - 29, 65 - 47, 85 - 68

STI College Santa Rosa draws first blood

The Finals

Relentless - that in a nutshell is how the STI College Santa Rosa's basketball team will be remembered in the 14th STI Basketball Showdown. They actually don't care whether the team they are playing are good or not because whatever team they are facing they will run them over with their unforgiving defense and fierce offense.  That was the case in game 1 of the 14th Season of the STI Basketball showdown as the five-peat seeking Laguna based team ran over the STI College Global City team 92- 53.

Lizen on the defense

Jeremy Bungar opened the scoring for the Global City squad but was immediately shutdown by the Santa Rosa guards as Norbert Peña, Robert Salazar, Kenneth Batiquin,Mike Sabino and Raul Guerrero took turns in scoring all 16 points of the first quarter that saw the Laguna based cagers run some fastbreaks to suddenly give them a whopping 15 - 2 lead. Global City would close the quarter with a 7 - 1 run anchored on Jim Lontoc's 5 points as the quarter closed with them down just 7 points 16 - 9.  

Jim Lontoc led Global City with 17 pts

The second quarter saw the Santa Rosa cagers unleash the full  brunt of their offense as eight players scored with no one scoring more than 5 points.  The Global City version of the Splash Brothers - Jim Lontoc and Mike Sampurna carried the fight for the Global City team but unfortunately it was not enough. STI College Santa Rosa hounded and disrupted the STI College Global City offense relentlessly and then ran the fastbreak and scored on three pointers in a show of balanced scoring.  The first half ended with the four time defending champions on top by 15, 39 - 24.

Kenneth Batiquin scored 8 4th qtr. points

The second half was just as bad for the Global City team as the Santa Rosa cagers hit the throttle as the whole team shifted to overdrive to outscore the Taguig-based cagers 53 - 29 in the next 20 minutes of action.  The Santa Rosa defense was so fine tuned that it produced 17 steals with Mark Caraan leading the way with 5 steals and Robert Salazar chipping in 3. The champs capitalized on these mistakes by scoring mostly on fastbreak opportunities and extending the lead further until all was lost for the Global City team. If the Santa Rosa team had an easier time scoring, the Global City squad had a hard time putting the ball in the basket as they missed lay-ups, jump shots and even free throws thus a convincing win.    

Norbert Peña led Santa Rosa with 17 points

This win puts STI College Santa Rosa one win away from securing their fifth consecutive title.  If they continue their superb relentless defense and unforgiving offense, the Laguna based four-peat champions will be on their way to rewrite STI basketball history. Game 2 is on Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at the historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum at 3:00 pm just after the 1:30 pm encounter of STI College Malolos and STI College Fairview in the battle for third place. So will it be redemption or repeat. See you on Wednesday.

Bryanth Ursua scores on the drive

The Scores

STI College Santa Rosa (92)

Peña 17, Batiquin 16, Almoro 10, Caraan 9, Sabino 9, Lizen 7, Guerrero 7, Salazar 7, Ursua 4, Fudotan 4, Aliparo 2, Geli 0, Mamaed 0, Romero 0, Maunahan 0

STI College Global City (53)

Lontoc 17, Napeñas 11, Sampurna 8, Pangilinan 5, Bernal 4, Carlos 3, Bungar 2, Gubat 2, Norte 1, Baldoza 0, Abuy 0, Delabajan 0, Natividad 0, Sultan 0, 

Quarter scores:  16 - 9, 39 - 24, 62 - 40, 92 -53

DYNASTY or DESTINY - The Finals of the 14th STI Basketball Showdown

Jan Almoro's inside presence will be needed by
STI College Santa Rosa

Four time defending champion STI College Santa Rosa is on a mission to snare their fifth straight STI Basketball Showdown crown.  In the history of the 14 year league there has been only four teams that has won the championship and STI College Santa Rosa is on the verge of matching the 5-year romp of DLS-STI from 2005 - 2009.  Trying to stop that from happening is a team which has a date with Destiny.  In fact this is the first time for the STI College Global City team to make it to the finals.  That is why this finals showdown will either solidify STI College Santa Rosa's Dynasty or make STI College Global City fulfill their date with Destiny.

Jim Lontoc's inside and outside scoring

is the key to Global City's offense

The trademark of STI College Santa Rosa has been their relentless and tenacious no-nonsense defense. Coach Leo Callado said that this year is actually a rebuilding year for their school and that they have many new faces and that their former MVPs have since moved on. Unfortunately for the other teams, nothing has changed as Coach Callado shuffled his men like a deck of cards and used his players depending on their defensive tenacity. This produced wonders as the Laguna based cagers won all five elimination games with an average winning margin of 60 points! They produced the highest scoring game (131 points) and the least allowed points (29 points). 

Robert Guerrero's fastbreak plays will definitely

give Global City guards a hard time

Leading the way are the two center forwards Addis Lizen and Jan Almoro. Lizen is averaging 8.0 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game, 2.3 steals per game and 1 block shot per game. Almoro on the other hand is averaging 11.6 ppg,  4.8 rpg and 1.3 spg.  The Santa Rosa guards on the other hand are led by Norbert Peña (10.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2 apg, 2.1 spg) Robert Salazar (9.3 ppg, 1 apg, 2.0 spg) Raul Guerrero (8.8 ppg.,2.5 rpg, 2 apg., 1.6 spg.) Michael Sabino (8.8 ppg, 2.0 apg, 2.67 spg.) and veteran Reb Maunahan (9.0 ppg, 2.67 apg.). Steady players from the bench include big men Dan Mamaed, Vincent Romero and John Geli while the heady guards that combine for steals are Kenneth Batiquin, June Aliparo, Bryan Ursau, Mark Caraan and Dean Fudotan.  Expect the 13-15 man rotation of Coach Callado to come in and out of the game to make them always fresh in defending their opponents.

King Carlos and the Global City guards
can also run the fastbreak efficiently

The Global City squad has always been a contender but unfortunately always fell short during the semifinals. This is the first time that this team has won in the final four and the new leaders of the team are reaping the dividends of the years of experience endured during those unfruitful runs.  Coached by former STI College Olympians RK Morales, the Global City team was unbeaten in the eliminations and took the top spot by beating last year's runner-up STI College Malolos in their Group B meeting. Coach RK employs a good solid defense complemented by a sound offense that utilizes the strengths of their inside men and shooters as well.

Dan Mamaed's defense, rebounding and scoring

will help STI College Santa Rosa's Bigs 

get the job done

Leading the pack are the shooting tandem of Mike Sampurna (15 ppg.) and Jim Patrick Lontoc (12.8 ppg). You can liken the two to the Splash Brothers (Steph Curry and Clay Thompson) of the Golden State Warriors. If the Sampurna and Lontoc are the outside gunners, Jeanssen Pangilinan (10.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Arjay Napeñas (8.0 ppg, 10.6 rpg) are the inside presence of the Global City team.  Manning the point are crack guards King Carlos (8.0 ppg, 2.0 apg), Jeremy Bungar (6.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg., 3.0 apg.) and Junard Gubat (4.0 ppg., 2.2 rpg., 2.7 apg.,). Other notable contributors are Jeric Bernal (5.0 ppg., 5.3 rpg., 1.7 spg.) and Micko Abuy (2.3 ppg.).  Michael Norte, Jejomar Baldoza, Vince Delabajan, Medardo Sultan  and Jumel Natividad complete their team of 14.

Arjay Napeñas will have to make his presence felt

inside the paint

Game 1 of the finals starts on June 20, 2014 at the STI College Global City gym at 2:00 pm.  Game 2 will be played at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on June 25, 2014 at 3:00 pm while Game 3 if necessary will be once again at the STI College Global City Gym. Will it be Dynasty or Destiny, take your pick, watch the games and cheer for your team.

STI College Santa Rosa & Global City forge title showdown

Norbert Peña contests Sherwin Sayo's shot

STI College Santa Rosa and STI College Global City set up a finals date to determine if this year’s 14th STI Basketball Showdown will be the continuation of a dynasty or the culminating event of a team of destiny.  First to secure the finals is STI College Santa Rosa which mustered all the experience they have to dispose last year’s finalist STI College Malolos in a tightly fought game  80 – 77.  STI College Global City on the other hand mustered enough intensity in the second half to come from behind amidst a gallant stand by STI College Fairview to get a 68 – 64 win.

Raul Guerrero scores on the fastbreak

STI College Santa Rosa and STI College Malolos engaged in a shoot out at the start of the first quarter as Norbert Pena and Michael Sabino sank 3 and 2 three pointers respectively between them while Levi Pineda on the other hand had 2 during the first quarter.  STI College Santa Rosa would threaten to break away but every time they try that STI College Malolos would counter back. The first half ended with both teams back to square one with a 40 – all tie.

 Levi Pineda for three

Both teams employed great defense and no team led by as much as five points. It was only in the last three minutes that the four time defending champions took control as their three guards, Norbert Peña, Michael Sabino and Robert Salazar each sank a three-pointer to give the Laguna based cagers a 77 – 70 lead with a minute and a half to go.  John Marcelo and Sherwin Sayo would help the Malolos team heave one final run to cut the lead to three until Addis Lizen and Michael Sabino each sank one free throw each to put the game away. 

Jim Lontoc sinks a three pointer

STI College Global City on the other hand took the harder road to the finals as the upset conscious STI College Fairview started like a house on fire but lost steam in the end. The backcourt tandem of Jeff Gustilo and Aldrin Eli ran rings around their defenders to score 19 of the 24 first quarter points of the Fairview squad.  The two kept the Regalado based cagers ahead as they scored 16 and 14 pointers respectively to take a 39 – 31 lead at the half as the Global City squad put the cuffs on STI College Fairview center Renz Galvez as he scored only 2 first half points.

John Inojales scores on a jumper

After the first half, the Global City cagers woke up, tightened their defense and eventually caught up with the Fairview squad as King Carlos scored six 3^rd quarter points to lead the charge that had Jeanssen Pangilinan, Jim Lontoc and Mike Sampurna limit their opponents to just 13 third quarter points.  Galvez eventually caught fire in the second half by scoring 12 points but Lontoc and Nappy Napeñas led the charge for the Taguig based cagers to give them a hard earned 68 -64 win and send them to their first finals appearance in this yearly basketball competition.

Jeannsen Pangilinan on an "And One Play"

FINAL FOUR RESULTS

JUNE 16, 2014

GAME 1: Group A #1 (Santa Rosa) vs. Group B #2 (Malolos)

STI COLLEGE SANTA ROSA (80)

Sabino 15, Peña 14, Salazar 12, Guerrero 10, Lizen 10, Almoro 9, Mamaed 6, Geli 2, Caraan 2, Maunahan 0, Batiquin 0,

STI COLLEGE MALOLOS (77)

Pineda 21, Marcelo 17, Jimenez 11, Sayo 11, Victoria 10, Cruz 5, Latagan 2, Gatchalian 0, Hernandez 0, Bonifacio 0,

Quarter Scores: 22 – 18, 40 – 40, 64 – 59, 80 - 77

GAME 2: Group B #1 (Global City) vs. Group A #2 (Fairview)

STI COLLEGE GLOBAL CITY (68)

Pangilinan 17, Lontoc 12, Sampurna 12, Carlos 10, Napeñas 7, Bernal 4, Sultan 2, Bungar 2, Abuy 2, Baldoza 0, Gubat 0,

STI COLLEGE FAIRVIEW (64)

Eli 18, Gustilo 16, Galvez 14, Ontal 8,  Inojales 4, Esteban 2, Arangel 2, Labanon 0, Sanggacala 0, Brillantes 0, Colcol 0, Avenir 0, Sales 0,

Quarter Scores:  16 – 24, 31 – 39, 51 – 52, 68 - 64

14th STI Basketball Showdown: Global City, Fairview and Muñoz wins

Jeanssen Pangilinan goes strong to the hoop

STI College Global City finally found the right mix as it ended a gallant stand by last year’s runner up, STI College Malolos to win a tighly fought match 86 -79.  STI College Malolos played catch up the whole game and finally led with three minutes left but unfortunately faltered in the endgame to give the Taguig based Global City cagers the win.  In the other matches, STI College Muñoz showed more experience in subduing the returning STI College Cubao team 76 – 60.  The Cubao dribblers are back after a three year hiatus from the league. The second game saw another returnee, STI College Fairview beat newcomer STI College San Pablo 73 – 48.

Carlo Jimenez leaves everyone behind

The Global City and Malolos match up lived up to the billing as Team Global City finally got back at Team Malolos that beat them 2 years back to claim third place. This time, the Global City squad had six players score in double figures as their centers Arjay Napenas and Jeanssen Pangilinan controlled the middle by scoring 16 and 11 points respectively.  On the other hand, helping out veteran shooting guard Jim Lontoc who scored 14 points are the newbies namely King Carlos who added 12 markers, Mike Sampurna who had 11 points and Junard Gubat who also scored 11 points.

Arjay Napeñas floats in mid-air

The Global City team started like a house on fire as they led by as much as 16 points enroute to a 25 – 13 first quarter. The Malolos team’s offense eventually caught fire as Abram Pineda ignited a 2^nd quarter comeback that had their team catch up but at the end of the half they were 10 points away from their opponents.

Sherwin Sayo scores 

The third quarter saw a fiery STI College Malolos squad as their ace point guard Carlo Jimenez combined with Pineda to score 12 straight points on four three pointers with each of them sinking two apiece.  Jimenez was relentless on defense and unstoppable on offense as he willed his team back to life by scoring 16 third quarter points.  After three quarters the game was tied again at 65 – all as the Global City team lost focus and allowed the Bulacan based dribblers to come back.

Jim Lontoc delivers the winning basket

The fourth quarter was a seesaw battle for both teams as neither of the two teams willing to yield. With time running out for the Global City team, Jim Lontoc sank a clutch three pointer to give Global City back the lead 79 – 78. Forward John Marcelo would sink a free throw while Mike Sampurna sank a basket to give the Global City squad an 81 – 79 lead.  Unfortunately Marcelo missed a potential game tying lay-up and the Global city team capitalized on this by scoring 5 consecutive free throws, Two from Napeñas and three from Lontoc to give STI College Global City a rousing nerve wracking debut.

Mark Baloaloa scores on this basket

STI College Munoz on the other hand showed their experience as Mark Baloaloa, Cedrick Manansala, Christian Sol, John Lopez, and Kristopher de Leon took turns in scorching the net with Baloaloa topscoring with 18 points.  STI College Cubao tried to comeback but was denied by the Muñoz defense time and time again. Shooting guard Vince Bantasan led the STI College Cubao team but needed more support since Khayan Dacles was the only other player to score in double figures.

Renz Galvez scores on this strong move

STI College Fairview on the other hand showed its strength and size as it relied on the big game of big man Renz Galvez who scored 17 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked four shots. Galvez was a beast in the middle as he scored 11 first quarter points to jumpstart the campaign of the Regalado based dribblers. Aldrin Eli wowed the crowd with his terrific basketball skills and he ably supported Galvez by scoring 12 second half points to help his team get the win. Denmark Ramos and Renzon Ticzon each scored 12 points to help lead the STI College San Pablo squad.

Follow up play by Inojales

THE SCORES

GAME 1

STI COLLEGE MUÑOZ (76)

Baloaloa 18, Manansala 12, Sol 11, Lopez 10, de Leon 10, Cuadra 8, Santillan 7, Cacay  0,

STI COLLEGE CUBAO (60)

Bantasan 17, Dacles 10, Tovillo 9, Belmonte 7, Silvania 7, Cruz 6, Teologo 4, Alas 0, Ricarte 0

Quarter scores: 16 – 9, 38 – 26, 54 – 40, 76 - 60

GAME 2

STI COLLEGE FAIRVIEW (73)

Galvez 17, Eli 16, Sanggacala 8, Arangel 6, Esteban 6, Inojales 5, Cañedo 3, Colcol 2, Sales 2, Labanon 2, Avenie 2, Gustilo 2, Ontal 2, Gonzales 0, Brillantes 0

STI COLLEGE SAN PABLO (48)

Ramos 12, Ticzon 12, Faylon 8, Mendoza 8, Tiongson 4, Lambit 4, delos Santos 0, Esteban 0, Tolentino 0, Tanqueco 0, Sayo 0

Quarter scores: 22 – 12, 32 – 26, 50 – 39, 73 - 48

GAME 3

STI COLLEGE GLOBAL CITY (86)

Napeñas 16, Lontoc 14, Carlos 12, Pangilinan 11,  Sampurna 11, Gubat 11, Abuy 5, Bernal 2, Bungar 2, Delabajan 2, Norte 0, Sultan 0,

STI COLLEGE MALOLOS (79)

Jimenez 29, Pineda 17, Sayo 12, Marcelo 7, Victoria 5, Panopio 4, Gatchalian 4, Cruz 1, Bonifacio 0, Capule 0, Ecleo 0,

Quarter scores:  25 – 13, 43 – 33, 65 – 65, 86 – 79

The STI Basketball Showdown opens 14th Season

Yours truly with the ceremonial toss

The first day of the 14^th STI Basketball showdown saw the powerhouse teams demolish the new teams as four time defending champion STI College Santa Rosa showed balanced scoring by beating STI Pasay 100 -33.  In the final game, last year’s 1^st Runner-up STI College Malolos blasted a stubborn STI College Tanay team 104 -55 to keep pace with the Santa Rosa based defending champs. The opener of the league also saw a vastly improved STI College Caloocan team beat the returning STI College Ortigas-Cainta team 76 - 66.   There are Four (4) new teams playing for this year’s STI Basketball Showdown while there are three (3) returnees and five veteran teams.

One of many Santa Rosa fastbreak points

The four time defending champs used their vaunted full court press once again to set the tone for the new season.  The Santa Rosa defense was so stingy that it limited the newcomers to just three points in the second quarter while erupting for 54 points themselves on account of the balanced scoring because of so many steals that led to uncontested fastbreaks. 

Veteran Point Guard Reb Maunahan

scores on the fastbreak

Rookies June Aliparo and John Geli led the charge for the Santa Rosa cagers as the duo scored 13 and 10 points respectively while a third rookie Norbert Peña chipped in 9 points.  Veterans Reb Maunahan coasted along by scoring 8 points and the vastly improved Addis Lizen added 8 points but was a tower of power by pulling down 15 rebounds.  The Santa Rosa defense also produced 30 steals with Raul Guerrero leading the charge with 5 steals. 

The STI College Santa Rosa defense

Groping for form were the newcomers from Pasay as they bled all the way in scoring 33 points as the pesky defense of the Santa Rosa team made them turn the ball over a lot which resulted to fast break points for the Laguna cagers.  Jayron Silapan led the Pasay cagers with 10 points while Jovimar Alejandro added 8 points. The STI Pasay team was in shock and had a hard time breaking the full court and half court pressure defense of the defending champs.

Rugged action

The vastly improved STI College Caloocan team opened their season on a winning note by besting returnee STI College Ortigas- Cainta 76 - 66.  Kevin Bautista played an all-around game by scoring 19 points and also hauled 10 rebounds to help the Caloocan team break away from a tight first half battle with the Cainta-based ORCA Team.  Ably helping him out was Mark Abin and Ariel Bautista who added 14 and 12 points respectively.

De Vera scores on this lay up

Returning to the STI basketball showdown after a long hiatus in the STI basketball scene, STI College Ortigas-Cainta relied on the inside presence of Allen Abes and Robin Merque.  Merque was a force in the paint but was unfortunately ganged up by the Caloocan defense which resulted in turnovers.  After scoring just three second quarter points, Team ORCA finally heated up in the fourth quarter as they cut a once 17 points lead to six points but the STI College Caloocan team eventually stemmed the tide by scoring in the final minutes for the win.

John Victoria on the pull up jumper

In the last game, Last year’s runner-up, STI College Malolos took advantage of STI College Tanay’s poor transition defense to score almost at will and build on a small lead to a big rout at the end of four quarters.  The amazing duo of Abram Pineda and Carlo Jimenez ran rings around the Rizal based Tanay squad as Pineda scored on three fastbreak attempts with a three pointer while Jimenez sank two three pointers from the top of the key to give the Malolos squad a 15 -2 lead in the first three minutes of the game.  The Bulacan based dribblers never looked back as they went on to win with a lot to spare.

Marjon Ludovico scores

STI College Tanay on the other hand relied on Mark Anago and Marjon Ludovico as the two tried to bring back the Tanay cagers back to the game but their efforts were not enough against the balanced scoring attack of the Malolos cagers. Anago and Ludovico scored 15 and 14 points respectively and no other team mate scored in double figures.  In contrast, the Malolos squad had 5 players score in double figures with John Marcelo leading the scoring parade with 18 markers, Ralph Bonifacio following suit with 14 points, Jimenez and Pineda finishing with 12 points apiece and Robie Angeles chipping in 10 points. Two other Malolos cagers barely scored double figures as veteran center John Victoria and rookie Sherwin Sayo added 9 points apiece to the cause of STI College Malolos.

Loose ball action

This year’s STI Basketball showdown attracted 12 teams and are divided into two groups with six teams each group.  The top two teams qualify for the semifinals with the top team getting a twice to beat advantage in the final four. The winners of the final four will figure in a best of three finals.  This year, six provincial teams are in the fold while another six metro manila teams answered the call.  Five teams from last year are still with the league with three returnees and four new teams. The tournament will run for five weeks.  So the question is, will STI College Santa Rosa win their fifth straight title or will there be another champion. Find out as the STI Basketball showdown goes on full gear this year.

Carlo Jimenez scores

BOX SCORES:

GAME 1

STI COLLEGE CALOOCAN (76)

Bautista K. 19, Abin 14, Bautista A. 12, Alonzo 7, Roldan 7, Flores 4, Palle 3, Carcellar 2, Laplana 2, Inocencio 2, Lazaro 2, Nadarisay 2, Richmon 0,

STI COLLEGE ORTIGAS-CAINTA (66)

Abes 19, Merque 12, Deniega 9, Moran 8, De Vera Re. 7, De Vera Ru. 6, Francisco 4, Picones 1, Siongco 0, Mateo 0,  Pedida 0, Paredes 0

Quarterscores:

26 – 24,  38 – 27, 53 – 35,  76 - 66

GAME 2

STI COLLEGE SANTA ROSA (100)

Aliparo 13, Geli 10, Peña 9, Maunahan 8, Lizen 8, Salazar 8, Ursua 8, Almoro 8,Guerrero 6, Mamaed 6, Vincent 6, Caraan 4, Batiquin 2, Sabino 2, Fudotan 2,

STI PASAY (33)

Silapyan 10, Alejandro 8, Amante 4, Santos 4, Macario 3, Lozada 2, Ordonez 2, Dela Cruz 0, Langcauon 0, Fastido 0, Giles 0, Ordoñez 0,

Quarter scores:

31 – 12, 54 – 15, 78 – 24, 100 - 33

GAME 3

STI COLLEGE MALOLOS (104)

Marcelo 18, Bonifacio 14, Jimenez 12, Pineda 12, Angeles 10, Victoria 9, Sayo 9, Panopio 7, Gatchalian 6, Capule 0, Ecleo 0, Hernandez 0

STI COLLEGE TANAY (55)

Anago 15, Ludovico 14, Piguing 7, Lontok 6, Inguito 5, Tesoro 4, Vista 2, Roderos 1, Roces 0, Lacerna 0, Vidanes 0,

QUarterscores:  31 – 11, 58 – 25, 70 – 43,  104 - 55