REDEMPTION for Junior Olympians

Arvin Sarmiento on the defense

Coming off a loss in their last outing, the STI College Junior Olympians came back strong, stumbled for a bit but regained their bearing as they outlasted the stubborn stand of the San Sebastian College Recoletos de Cavite Junior Baycats 68 - 61. The Olympians leaned on the hot shooting of the La Union duo of Ervin Silverie and Vincent Amparo who hit 5 three pointers as Silverie hit two in the first half while Amparo hit two crucial ones in the second half.

Paul Sabacahan scores after being fouled

The Junior Olympians started hot as Silverie went two of three from way beyond the arc and the defense of the Olympians made it hard for the Junior Baycats to penetrate. STI College center Elmer Labis was the focal point of the Junior Olympians defense as he changed a lot of shots of the Junior Baycats while swatting 9 shots. After one quarter the Junior Olympians were on top 19 – 10 and was still on top after the first half 32 - 18.

Center Elmer Labis scores on a dunk

By the third quarter the Junior Olympians were threatening to blow the game open until the Junior Baycats made a last stand to salvage a win. Leading 51 – 38, the Baycats employed a crippling full court press that gave the cavite based recoletos the lead 55 -54 with three minutes and 25 seconds to go. The fourth quarter had the makings of another monumental breakdown for the Junior Olympians in the last two minutes but they eventually recovered their bearing just in the nick of time. With the score tied at 57 – all, Junior Olympian Forward John Pariñas scored on two straight ten foot jumpers to give the Junior Olympians enough breathing room which eventually turned into a win.

One of Elmer Labis 8 blocked shots

It was the fourth time the Junior Olympians lost a lead as with the last one ending up in a loss to their rival AMA Junior Titans. The Junior Olympians improve to 3 wins and a loss and is raring to test league leading CEU Junior Scorpions next week.

STI (68)

Silverie 15, Pariñas 10, Amparo 8, Sanchez 7, Sabacahan 6, Labis 4,Sarmiento 4, Ortega 4, Untalan 4, Dulalia 3, Intong 2, Saldaña 0

SSC-R (61)

Barnales 19, Victa 12, Enriquez 11, Eugenio 6, Monera 5, Cruz 2, Pono 2, Alcober 2, Macaraig 2, Cruz 0

Quarter scores

19 – 10, 32 – 18, 46 – 36, 68 – 6 1

Ervin Silverie topscored

for the Junior Olympians

Because I need to see

the Philippines growing

into the best nation it can be.

Because I need to be a part

of a home in harmony

within a stable & sustainable community.

Because I need to grow

in an Academic Body

that values knowledge & integrity.

All the changes I want to see,

I'll start with me.

Because I am We,

I am I,

I am Citizen STI.

STI 27th Anniversary Celebration

August 27, 2010

@ Enchanted Kingdom

Gates open @ 7:00 AM

See You There!!!

Junior Olympians beat Junior Saints for 2nd win

Elmer Labis wins the tap

In just the second game of this year’s STI College Junior Olympians, they have already surpassed last year’s win record. Center Elmer Labis made sure that the Junior Olympians would not falter as he scored 14 points to help the Junior Olympians recover from a monumental collapse to win against the St. Clare College Junior Saints 63 – 57 at the STI Gym at the fort in Taguig City. More than his scoring, the defensive presence of Labis was all the young Olympians needed to salvage the win.

Jason Intong for two

The Olympians started the game like a house on fire as they raced to a 17 - 9 first quarter lead mainly on the timely hits of Labis and the scoring of point guard Charlon Untalan. The Junior Olympians were in control of game but the Junior Saints kept on coming back as they cut the lead in the second quarter 24- 20. In came La Union shooter Erven Silverie as he found himself open most of the time as Labis was double teamed. The 16 year old Silverie scored 12 points on four three point shots as he gave the Junior Olympians breathing room after the Junior Saints came close, the half ended with the Junior Olympians on top 35 – 30.

Mark Dulalia scores

The third quarter saw the Junior Olympians start in a maze of errors that made the Junior Saints come back and take the lead. From a 30 – 35, the Junior Saints clamped down on the STI team as they uncorked an 11 – 0 run to give them a six point lead. The Olympians did not know what hit them as they went scoreless for six minutes until Pari Pariñas scored on two free throws. The team was pulverized by the Saints defense as the STI team failed to counter the St Clare attack. After that tumultuous third quarter, STI Coach Raymond Tiongson brought in the two team spark plugs, Elmer Labis and Jerome Ortega. Ortega’s no nonsense defense created opportunities for the STI team as he dictated the tempo of the game through his defense. With the score tied at 53 – all with 3:09 left in the game, the Junior Olympians uncorked a 10 – 4 wind up anchored on Labis as the STI team booked their second straight win. Next stop, the AMACU Junior Titans.

Junior Olympian defense

STI COLLEGE (63)

Labis 14, Silverie 12, Untalan 9, Dulalia 8, Ortega 5, Amparo 4, Sanchez 3, Sabacahan 3, INtong 2, Pariñas 2,Saldaña 0,

ST. CLARE (57)

Albalos 13, Mercado 9, Paltao 8, Barte 7, Macapulay 7, de Mesa 6, Pantanugan 3, Federez 2,

Quarter scores: 17 – 9, 35 – 30, 42 - 49, 63 - 57

Charlon Untalan with a basket

Olympians beat Icons 60 - 58 for third win

For the first time since STI College joined the NAASCU six years ago, STI finally hosted the games of the NAASCU at the newly built STI College Gym at the STI Academic Center at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. Unfortunately though, everytime the Olympians play at home its as if they are not playing at home, the shooting and scoring of the Olympians was quite horrible and their defense was inconsistent. Nevertheless, the STI College Olympians still eked out a hard earned 60 – 58 win against the stubborn Informatics Icons.

Jasper Melano provided additional scoring

The Icons opened the quarter with a 6 – 0 blast as the Olympians found it hard to penetrate the tough defense of the Icons. On the other hand, the Icons scored inside courtesy of bullstrong big man Mark Montuano who established his presence inside the shaded lane early on. The Olympians then regrouped and finally torched the nets as they managed to comeback and take the quarter 13 -12 mainly on their hustle plays and through main man and last year’s mythical awardee Jerald Bautista and his back up Jasper Melano.

Ihalas guards Leonida

The Icons on the other hand defended well as they shamed the Olympians big men by getting blocks and stops and translated those Olympians turnovers to fastbreak points as the flat footed Olympians had a hard time with their transition defense. Rookie Point Guard Rama Krisna Morales paced the Olympians as he scored 5 points in the quarter to give the Olympians some breathing room. However, the troika of Montuaño, Mario Leonida and rookie Jan Baltazar scored for the Icons as they seized the upperhand after 10 minutes of action 26 -24.

RK Morales on the fastbreak

The second half was a battle of wills as the STI College Olympian’s defense finally came to town. 6-6 Cameroonian Center Henri Atanga-Betayene flustered two Icons shots and changed a lot of lay ups with his shot blocking skills. This allowed the Olympians to crawl back as the Icons threatened to break the game open. The lead would change hands depending on which team scores off a good defensive gem against their opponent. The Olympians used a fiery wind up in the fourth quarter as Betayene teamed up with Bautista and Maclean Sabellina as the three scored off their opponents and limited the scoring of the Icons. The crucial play of the game came when Rookie guard Hessed Gabo stole the ball from another rookie guard Eric Acuña after the Icons were about to attack. Norman Ihalas missed two important free throws that could have sealed the game with less than 10 seconds left after a good defensive job by the Olympians and Acuña turned the ball over and much worse held on to Gabo’s jersey which meted him an unsportsmanlike foul. Gabo made one free throw and the Olympians wasted the time on the clock for their third win in a row.

Cedric Ablaza attacks the basket

STI COLLEGE (60)

Bautista 14, Betayene 10, Sabellina 8, Ihalas 8, Melano 6, Gabo 6, Morales 5, Ablaza 2, Riva 1 , Alcantara 0, Chavez 0, Villadoz 0, Po 0, Moreno 0

INFORMATICS (58)

Montuano 25, Baltazar 11, Leonida 10, JP Santos 6, Ubalde 4, Acuña 2, Castelo 0, K Santos 0, Ubalde 0, Corpuz 0, S. Santos 0,

Quarterscores : 13 – 12, 24 – 26, 40 – 39, 60 - 58

STI Mobile School Secured

The STI Mobile School has 24 computers in it that is why when we send it out we ask the STI Schools to have adequate security for the bus to be secure. One of our STI Schools in Malaybalay, Bukidnon in Mindanao took that matter to the fullest detail as seen here in this photo. Great job Marcwin, now we know that the bus is secure.

Blue Eagles win 4th game

Great playmaking by the playmakers

Payback? Karma? A year ago when the Ateneo Blue Eagles faced a winless University of the Philippines squad, nothing fell for the Blue Eagles as they lost their only game in the eliminations which helped them build a mean streak all the way to the championship. This year, it was a total reversal as the UP Fighting Maroons took a sound beating from the two time defending champions as the Ateneo Blue Eagles clobbered the Maroons 78 -53.

Ryan has yet to explode again this season

The first quarter saw the Maroons chalk up 17 points and have a five point lead against the slow starting Blue Eagles which eventually led the viewers to believe that it might be a repeat of last year's first round loss. Unfortunately for the Maroons, they would only score 13 points in the next two quarters after the Blue Eagles' defense went to full throttle. UP's fabled scorer Mike Silungan only scored 5 points the whole game while 11 of Alvin Padilla's 12 points came in the fourth quarter during garbage time. By the start of the fourth quarter, the bench warmers were already warming up and for the first time this year rookie Jeric Estrada and Carlo Balmaceda were fielded in together with returnee Chris de Chavez. Both of them scored 2 points each with Estrada scoring on a jumper.

Jumbo looks on

This year's theme centers on Heroes and the Blue Eagles featured another one in sophomore point guard Juami TIongson who is slowly coming into his own as he scored a career high 13 points on 3 of 3 shooting from the three point area. Tiongson combined with the unstoppable Nico Salva and Eric Salamat. Another unsung hero slowly becoming a solid contributor is Frank Golla who is getting those rebounds and scoring 8 points today against Magi Sison who is bigger than him.

Kirk on the move

Not much can be said about this blow out game. The most important thing about it is that the Blue Eagles are slowly getting to the groove which won them two consecutive titles. In the last two games, they started slowly but once they recover they unleash hell upon those who would want to pull them down. The result, both games ended in routs. Next stop - last year's runner up, the UE Red Warriors.

Career game for Juami Tiongson

The Scores:

ADMU 78 – Salva 18, Tiongson 13, Salamat 12, Golla 8, Chua 8, Escueta 6, Long 3, Estrada 2, Dela Cruz 2, Monfort 2, Buenafe 2, Austria 2, Erram 0, Balmaceda 0, Gonzaga 0, De Chavez 0.

UP 53 – Sison 13, Padilla 12, Lopez 6, Silungan 5, Co 5, Gomez 4, Martin Reyes 3, Migs Reyes 2, Juruena 2, Jose 1, Saret 0, Maniego 0, Hipolito 0, Gingerich 0.

Quarters: 12-17, 38-25, 54-30, 78-53.

Junior Olympias beat Junior Hunters

Point guard Charlon Untalan is hounded

by the New Era guard

Balanced Attack. Finally the STI College Junior Olympians found the balance that they so needed in disposing last year’s semifinalist, New Era University 90 – 78. Last year’s 16 year old main man has matured into a 17 year old phenom as Eric Sanchez shared top scoring honors with 17 points. Rookie sensation Elmer Labis bore the brunt of the defense and also exploded on offense in the second half as he scored 17 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and more importantly blocked 8 shots. His defensive stance against the Junior Hunters proved to be the main difference in the game.

Eric Sanchez scores unmolested

The Olympians were led by Eric Sanchez and Vincent Amparo in the first half as the tandem’s offense brought the Junior Olympians to a commanding first half lead against the Junior hunters. Unfortunately the Junior Hunters is not a team that easily gives up as they staged a comeback in the final minutes of first half. After leading by four after one quarter 18 -14, the Olympians erupted on offense as they took an early 32 – 21 lead after Paul Sabacahan lay up. After that, last year’s leading scorer Roncal hit two three pointers and a jumper to narrow the gap 34- 29. The Olympians gained some bearing but just finished the first half ahead by 7 points 41 - 34.

Elmer Labis scores

The New Era team slowly crawled their way back to the game as they scored 18 points in the third quarter but at the end of the third canto the Olympians have erected a 16 point lead 66 – 52. This happened because of the superb job of the Olympians namely Jerome Ortega and Elmer Labis on defense as Ortega had a hey day stealing the ball while Labis bothered a lot of shots by the New Era big men. Unfortunately, before the Junior Olympians could call it a day the Junior Hunters unleashed a 15 – 2 run that wiped out the STI lead of 14 to just one 68-67 with still six minutes left.

Labis on the defensive end

The Olympians regrouped and went to the Pariñas and Labis tandem to torch the young Hunters. Labis connected on an And 1 play as he scored on a drive to the hook from a pass from Pariñas. Pariñas on the other hand also scored inside and played good defense which eventually gave the Junior Olympians breathing room as they unleashed their own run anchored on Labis. From a one point lead the Olympians scored once again to give them a 86 – 76 lead. The La Union connection of Vincent Amparao and Erven Silverie debuted with flying colors as they scored 10 points and 7 points respectively to help the Olympinas cause. Next stop- the St. Clare Junior Saints.

Pari Pariñas scored 15 points

STI COLLEGE (90)

Sanchez 17, Labis 17, Pariñas 15, Ortega 11, Amparo 10, Silverie7, Sarmiento 5, Untalan 3, Dulalia 3, Sabacahan 2, Intong 0, Saldaña 0,

NEW ERA UNIVERSITY (78)

Roncal 23, Cabacungan 18, Bebit 16, Pelaez12, Francisco 4, Acuna 3, Marcial 2,

Quarterscores: 18 - 14, 41 - 34, 66 - 52, 90 - 78

Jason Intong drives

Olympians beat Hunters 60 - 43

Henri Betayene, the human eraser

The STI College Olympians worked out an early lead and then just coasted along the way to beat opening day winner New Era University 60 – 43. The game started with the Olympians racing to a 6 – 0 lead and they never looked back. The Olympians stymied the hunters offense as they scored mostly from the free throw line in the first quarter. By the second quarter all the Hunters could muster were just 18 points. That was largely because the Olympians employed their vaunted full court press. Because of the Olympians press the Hunters tried to run and outhustle the STI cagers but were met by their big frontline once they crossed the line.

Today it was Ablaza's time to shine

Henri Atanga –Betayene and Maclean Sabellina swatted away tons of shots from the Hunters as their defensive presence made it hard for the Hunters to ignite a big run. Ramel Pepito topscored for the Hunters but all he could muster was 8 points, a far cry from his 22 point game 1 performance on opening day. On the other hand, the Olympians relied on the troika of big man Cedric Ablaza, point guard RK Morales and NAASCU 2009 Mythical 5 member Jerald Bautista. Morales paced the Olympians in the first half with his three pointers while Ablaza foiled the New Era 2^nd half rally by driving to the hoop and scoring at will.

Norman Ihalas goes strong to the hoop

The Olympians were actually on their way to a rout but was derailed in their bid when the Hunters came back in the third period. After scoring only 18 first half points, the Quezon City based New Era team scored the same number of points in the third canto after the Olympians fell in a maze of errors. Most of the errors came from palming the ball and travelling calls. This allowed the Hunters to come back but only momentarily. When Betayene came in, he swatted away shots again and camped inside the shaded lane which made the Hunters resort to three point shots that rarely went in. The Olympians, the Hawks and the Phoenix are the only unbeaten teams after two games as the other opening day winners fell today namely the Scorpions, Eagles and Hunters.

Henri Scores

STI COLLEGE (60)

Ablaza 12, Morales 10, Bautista 9, Betayene 5, Gabo 4, Moreno 4, Po 4, Villadoz 4, Sabellina 4, Ihalas 2, Alcantara 2, Chavez 0, Daguplo 0, Melano 0

NEW ERA UNIVERSITY (43)

Pepito 8, Santos 7, Candelina 6, Quintal 6, Acuña 5, Sevilla 4, Faner 4, Tengco 2 Talastas 1, Villarosa 0,

Quarterscores:

14 – 9, 31- 18, 49 -36, 60 - 43

Jerald Bautista is ahead of the pack

Eagles vent ire on Bulldogs

Eagles trap Emmanuel Mbe

The two time defending UAAP champion Ateneo Blue Eagles flirted with disaster before unleashing their might and heft against the emerging National University Bulldogs as they beat the Bulldogs 82 – 65. The win put the Eagles in a tie for third place together with the DLSU Green Archers and UST Growling Tigers at three wins and two losses apiece. A loss would have put the Blue Eagles in fifth place tie with the Bulldogs at 2 – 3 and it would mark the first time the Blue Eagles would’ve lost back to back since the finals of 2006.

The Sultan of swipe at it again

The Bulldogs started the game like a house on fire as Kokoy Hermosisima and Joseph Terson were nailing their shots. This eventually gave the Bulldogs a 17 -11 lead after Jason Escueta missed on a jumper to end the first quarter. At the start of the second quarter the Bulldogs sent their second unit which went on a 9 to 3 tear that gave them their biggest lead at 28 – 14. This was the cue that five year veteran Eric Salamat needed as he fueled the Ateneo comeback by scoring 8 points as they closed the quarter with a paralyzing 19 – 6 run to close out the half trailing by only one 33 -34.

Kirk Long's offense did the talking

The Bulldogs were demoralized after that Blue Eagle run as they committed countless turnovers that the Blue Eagles capitalized on. Eric Salamat, Kirk Long and the rest of the Blue Eagles got easy points off those turnovers which were caused by bad passes and good defense by the Blue Eagles. By the end of the third quarter the Eagles were comfortably ahead 61 – 48 which is a 27 point turn around that showed the inexperience of the Bulldogs.

Ryan scored only two points

but dished out lots of asssists

In the fourth quarter the lead of the Blue Eagles grew to 69 – 54 which caused panic to the National University cagers. Seldom used shooter LJ Malanday waxed hot in the pay-off period as he sank four three pointers that cut the lead of the Blue Eagles. After regrouping , the Eagles closed out the game with a fiery wind up, something they failed to do in the game against DLSU. Eric Salamat topscored for the Blue Eagles with 20 points while Kirk Long who went 4 out of 4 from beyond the arc added 19 points while Nico Salva’s perimeter game netted him 12 points.

Eric topscored with 20 points

The Scores:

ADMU 82 – Salamat 20, Long 19, Salva 14, Dela Cruz 6, Golla 6, Tiongson 5, Monfort 5, Gonzaga 3, Escueta 2, Buenafe 2, Erram 0, Chua 0, Austria 0.

NU 65 – Hermosisima 18, Malanday 12, Mbe 11, Khobuntin 7, Terso 5, Magat 4, Javillonar 3, Ponferrada 3, Tungcul 2, Ludovice 0, Singh 0, Baloran 0.

Quarterscores: 11-17, 33-34, 61-48, 82-65.