CEBU City – RKF Industrial and Installation Services-Iloilo captured the 2025 Cebu City Sinulog Cup basketball crown after a 74-69 victory over Welec X AMC over the weekend at the Cebu Coliseum.
Cedric Manzano, a member of Adamson University Falcons in the UAAP, finished with a double-double of 16 points and 17 rebounds to be named MVP in the tournament organized by Vice Mayor Dondon Hontiveros and the Sinulog Foundation, Inc. (SFI).
With both teams knotted at 65-apiece with over five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Walec took the lead for the last time at 69-65 courtesy of back-to-back conversions from Ivan Alsola and Kent Salarda.
Consecutive baskets from Manzano, Cedric Ablaza, and Keith Pido gave RKF-Iloilo a 72-69 advantage before Wilmer Dalumpines sealed the victory with two free throws late in the game.
“The players didn’t give up. They just followed the system. I could barely call a timeout, but they found a way to win. This victory is really a gift from Jesus Christ,” said RFK head coach Florence Conlu.
RFK-Iloilo team owner Ryan Keith Fio, for his part, stated that he is delighted that they were able to capture a championship in their first tournament outside of Western Visayas.
“It feels wonderful because that was truly our aim — to clinch the championship in the Sinulog Cup,” Fio said. “This is actually our second championship because we also won the Mayor’s Cup in Passi City (Iloilo).”
“Now we have another game in the Mayor Raymond Garcia Cup, so we have two objectives. We aspire to be back-to-back champions. We will achieve that,” the team owner added.
Meanwhile, the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters turned back Cebu City Selection, 85-63, to clinch the third place honors.
RFK-Iloilo received a cash prize of P200,000 for ruling the six-day tournament, Welec was awarded P100,000, UC pocketed P50,000 cash, the Cebu City Selection went home with P25,000, and Team Frasco got P10,000 as consolation prize./PN
