BACOLOD City – Bacolod Tay Tung High School Thunderbolts advanced to the finals of the 1st United Basketball League Aspirants Basketball Cup 2023 via an 81-41 win over the University of St. La Salle in the semifinals held at their homecourt here.
Dave Matthew Recodo spearheaded the offense with 16 points, while Andrian James Alagaban contributed 15 markers. The Thunderbolts remained undefeated in the tournament after beating all their opponents by double-digits.
The Thunderbolts did not waste time creating separation from USLS as Alagaban and Rey Frederick Uy uncorked five points apiece in the opening quarter as they build a 24-11 lead.
Bacolod Tay Tung continued its onslaught in the second quarter behind Recodo and Aethan Kyle Pimentel for a 52-22 lead at the half, which later grew to 40 points in the second half.
John Carl Lamonte was the lone bright spot for USLS with 14 points, six of which came in the opening quarter, while John Troy Newman and Raegan Jamero combined for 13 points.
St. John’s Institute Team A Falcons, meanwhile, forced a rubber match after scoring a lopsided 82-65 win over STI-West Negros University. The do-or-die game is set on Thursday afternoon.
It was a tightly-contested game for both teams in the opening half with the Falcons clinging to a slim 35-34 lead after the first quarter before STI-WNU surged ahead at the half at 43-41.
The Falcons, however, was able to regroup in the second half with Santino Miguel Loretizo and Marlowe John Keith Alacapa conspiring on a 9-0 scoring run followed by five straight points by Lorenzo Lacson for a 58-48 advantage.
STI-WNU, however, struggled to recover in the fourth quarter after they turned the ball over several times before Lacson spearheaded the Falcons’ attack as they build an 82-61 advantage.
Lacson paced the Falcons with 24 points, while Loretizo and Ryton Celiz added 16 and 14 markers, respectively. Kyle Francis Bayog and Jovel Thomas Gonzales tallied 11 markers apiece to lead STI-WNU./PN
