UNIVERSITY of San Agustin pulled off its biggest upset so far in the 2018 Iloilo PRISAA secondary boys’ basketball when it effectively dethroned Hua Siong College of Iloilo.
San Agustin beat Hua Siong 70-67 in the semifinal round Tuesday at the Iloilo Sports Complex gym – depriving the defending champion a chance to guard its title.
John Michael Vicencio anchored the offense with 16 points while Arthur Peter Tuballes chipped in 13 markers for San Agustin, which will face St. Robert’s International Academy in the final round.
It was a seesaw battle for both squads the entire match until San Agustin gained a 70-64 advantage with 18 seconds left in the game. Hua Siong made its last run to come to within 67-70 on a triple by Jaspher Antijendra.
Hua Siong, in fact, had a chance to force overtime after San Agustin missed two free throws but the Red Phoenix failed to capitalize on this opportunity as Reynold Tupas misfired in a 3-point attempt.
For its part St. Robert’s had to battle back from a double-digit deficit in the first half before scoring a 92-75 victory over Santa Clarita International School and advance to the final round that was being played at press time.
Trailing by as much as 12 points at 18-30 midway in the opening half, St. Robert’s slowly clawed its way back until it got a slim 45-42 advantage at the onset of the third canto.
With Santa Clarita losing its shooting touch and its star Franc Steven Tono saddled with foul trouble, the lead grew further, allowing St. Robert’s to pull away by as much as 17 markers.
Dexter Hanz Gange was the high-point man for St. Robert’s with 17 points while John Michael Montaña added 14 markers. Kim Rey Servano had 20 points for Santa Clarita./PN
