MANILA – Santa Clarita International School Primes-Iloilo faltered in NBTC national finals’ Round of 16 after losing to Durham Crossover Canada, 109-75, on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Franc Steven Tono top-scored with 28 points, while Jemar Cepriano and Ralph Bajon had 17 and 13 markers, respectively, for the Primes, which was relegated to the loser’s bracket.
Taylor Garcia tallied 32 points, while Marc Casilla and Brendon Ocampo contributed 17 and 16 points, respectively, for Canada, which will face either Far Eastern University or Mapua University in the next round.
The Ilonggos got to a strong 9-4 start following a pair of three pointers from Tono but the Canadians slowly inched closer before taking the advantage for good by halftime break.
The Canadians pulled away further in the third period after founding their outside shots behind Garcia and Casilla as the lead widened to its largest of the match at 34 points in the fourth quarter.
The Iloilo squad reached the round-of-16 of the competition following a come-from-behind 89-75 victory over Cebu’s University of San Jose-Recoletos on Tuesday evening.
The Ilonggos struggled early in the match and were down by as much as 15 points before slowly clawing its way back in the second period behind Tono and Kimrey Servano to come to within 37-40 at the half.
It was a seesaw battle for both teams in the second half until the Ilonggos created separation from the Cebuanos late in the match behind the tandem of Tono and Wilmer Dalumpines./PN
