DILIMAN Preparatory School College of the Philippines walked the tightrope before eking out a thrilling 70-67 victory over Bangkok University of Thailand in the men’s basketball finals of the 10th Universiti Institut Teknologi MARA (UiTM) International Sports Fiesta held in Shah Alam in Selangor, Malaysia recently.
It was one of two gold medals won by Filipino university athletes in the annual UISF festivities under the aegis of the Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines (FESSAP), the sole university sports organization in the country that is officially recognized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU).
Men’s basketball was staged for the first time ever in the UISF’s decade-long history. The games were held at the UiTM Shah Alam Sports Complex and attracted seven entries from five nations – Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka (three different university teams), Indonesia and UiTM-Malaysia.
During the knockout semifinals, Diliman PS College, whose school president is former Senator Anna Dominque (Nikki) Coseteng, ousted UiTM, 83-57, and Bangkok University eliminated Informatic Institute of Teknology of Sri Lanka, 81-57.
The championship duel was between unbeaten teams as Diliman PS College owned a 4-0 record (including 3-0 in its four-team group during the elimination phase) and Bangkok University registered a 3-0 mark (including 2-0 in the elims of its three-team group after Pakistan pulled out of the tournament at the 11th hour).
The Blue Dragons led for most of the way, grabbing a 39-31 advantage at the half after a melee erupted midway through the second quarter. Players from both sides traded shoves and kicks that resulted in two players each from DPSC and Bangkok University being thrown out of the intense, closely-fought contest.
Diliman PS College was still ahead at the end of the third canto, 54-48, but Bangkok University slowly cut into the Filipinos’ lead and eventually deadlocked the count at 64-all with 3:50 remaining.
Rowell Maniago regained the upperhand for the Blue and White squad, 66-64, with a short baseline jumper at the 3:09 mark and Michael Baniaria subsequently split his free throws as the Quezon City-based school moved up by three points, 67-64. Following a Bangkok University freebie, DC’s Harley Frank Diego went 2-for-2 from the foul line with 57.8 seconds left for a 69-65 advantage by the Philippines.
Bangkok U reduced its deficit to two, 69-67, with a layup at the 0:31.8 mark. Diliman College caught a break with 14.2 ticks remaining when the referees gave ball possession back to the team after calling an outside violation against BU while failing to see a slight tap of the leather off a DC player’s shoe before it went out of bounds.
Penalty-plagued BU was forced to foul with 3.2 seconds left and DC’s MacArthur John (MJ) Enriquez halved his charity shots for a 70-67 lead that sealed the outcome when a BU player air-balled a Hail Mary three-point attempt at the buzzer.
Diliman PS College finished the tournament with an immaculate 5-0 record.
The Philippines also snared the gold medal in the team event of the men’s table tennis competitions. It defeated host UiTM-Shah Alam, 3-1, in the finals with prominent athletes from the University of Cebu that also carried the national colors in the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, Republic of Korea last July spearheading the successful campaign.
Represented by university standouts from Mapua Institute of Technology-Manila and Alcala Tennis Club of Lucena City, the country settled for the bronze medal in the team event of the lawn tennis tournament after being beaten by Bangkok University in the semifinals.
Overall, the Philippines posted a 2-0-1 (gold-silver-bronze) medal tally during the three-day competitions.
“We’re so happy that our athletes proved their mettle in the UISF games,” said David Ong, the FESSAP president who was warmly welcomed by the UISF organizers during the opening rites. “But overall, it was the Filipinos’ exemplary camaraderie and friendly interaction with their Asian brothers and sisters that warmed FESSAP officials.”
The FESSAP sent 40 plus-member delegation to the 10th UISF and participated in four disciplines – men’s basketball, lawn tennis (men and women), table tennis (men and women) and badminton (men and women).
Rugby 7, futsal, tenpin bowling and netball were the other events contested by eight countries – Brunei, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and host Malaysia – during the three-day UISF games.