THE race for the combined 16 playoff berths in the twin divisions – Juniors and Seniors – of the 2015 Milcu Got Skills Basketball Elite Showcase has gotten tougher and more interesting.
The weekend menu of games may yet provide a clearer picture of which teams will qualify for the postseason party in the three-month competitions organized by Got Skills Basketball, an associate member of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), and supported primarily by Milcu Philippines and its partners Slam Magazine Philippines, Magic 89.9 FM Radio, Gatorade, LGR X Titan Sports Wear, Coach Athletic Trainer’s Tape and Secret Fresh (Ronac San Juan City).
In the Juniors Division for players age 16 and below, unblemished Adamson University (5-0), De La Salle Integrated School (3-1) and University of Santo Tomas (4-2) have earned berths in the quarterfinal playoffs in the seven-team Group A while Faith Christian School (3-2) has one foot on the door and can clinch the fourth and last berth with a loss by De La Salle Araneta C (1-2) to DLS Integrated School on Saturday, August 22, or a victory over the latter on Sunday, August 23, at the Enderun Colleges gymnasium in BGC Taguig City.
Philadelphia High School (1-4) and De La Salle Araneta A (0-6) are out of postseason contention this early.
In Group B, unbeaten Chiang Kai Shek College (5-0), University of the East Juniors (4-1) and AMA Computer University Juniors (3-2) have advanced to the quarters and National University Juniors (2-2) needs only to beat winless De La Salle Araneta B (0-4) on Friday, August 21, to advance to the next round and send Ateneo Bughaw Basketball (2-4) to an early vacation along with Xavier School (1-4) and DLS Araneta B.
The Adamson Baby Falcons registered their fifth win in as many assignments with a 97-20 shellacking of DLS Araneta A behind Jun Asuncion’s 21 points and 11 rebounds. The CKSC Blue Dragons won twice last weekend, getting 14 markers, 10 boards and five assists from Joshua Ramirez to wallop DLS Araneta B, 77-58, and banking on Jaylen Christian Ang’s 14 scores to score a 72-55 decision over Ateneo Bughaw Basketball.
In the Seniors Division for players age 25 and under, Enderun Colleges looks to sweep its eight-game elimination sked in the nine-team Group A when it takes on Ateneo de Manila University Seniors (4-1) next week. Enderun, National University Seniors (5-1) and Ateneo are headed to the quarters while Arellano University (3-3), University of the East Seniors (3-3) and Mapua Institute of Technology (3-4) remain in the running for the fourth and last quarterfinal slot.
Enderun went 7-0 as guard Mark Nunez (who along with current teammate Christian Errol Villar is a product of Hope Christian High School) tallied 14 points in an 82-64 rout of the MIT Cardinals.
In Group B, Far Eastern University leads the pack at 5-1, followed by Adamson University Seniors B (4-1), College of Saint Benilde (3-1) and AMA Computer University Seniors (3-2).
Lyceum of the Philippines University (4-4) has completed its eight-game assignments and may yet squeeze into the group’s top four depending on the results of the upcoming games by STI College-Balagtas (3-3) and Polytechnic University of the Philippines (2-3).
The University of Santo Tomas Juniors (0-4) and San Sebastian College-Recoletos (0-5) are off to an early vacation.
The quarterfinal playoffs will be held in the first week of September.