CENTERPHIL Montessori Silver Knights and St. Robert’s International Academy Panda Rockets kicked off the 2nd Bingawan’s Foundation Cup High School Basketball Premier Tournament with wins Wednesday at the Bingawan National High School Gym.
Silver Knights opened its campaign with a lopsided 89-50 victory over Ateneo de Iloilo Blue Dragons behind the all-game long brilliance of veterans Lester Valn Paraico and Ronald Silorio.
Paraico was hailed the shining star of the game with 24 points while Silorio chipped in 13 markers for Silver Knights, which recently placed second in the SMART Breakdown Basketball National in Manila.
Panda Rockets, meanwhile, had an impressive debut with a one-sided 125-52 rout of host Bingawan National High School. Gabriel Claridad scored 18 points for Panda Rockets.
St. Robert’s got its game going early on with conversions from Claridad to build a 30-point advantage at the half. The lead grew further in the second half and went to as high as 73 points.
The Bingawan Foundation Cup is the first elite regional preseason high school basketball tournament established in the region.
Twelve teams, including defending champion Santa Clarita International High School Primes, are competing in the weeklong games in line with the celebration of the Bingawan Foundation Day and the Pagnahi-an Festival./PN
