FIVE different schools emerged triumphant in their respective divisions as the 7th Quezon City Athletic Association basketball competitions came to a conclusion last Saturday at the Royale Tivoli Gym.
And with the exception of one, all are new winners from last season. Ateneo Grade School completed a 7-0 finish with a 45-40 victory over School of Saint Anthony to claim the title in the 12-and-under Elementary Boys division.
Eleven Eaglets punched their names in the scoring column, led by Jan Baltazar (seven points), Dave Lero (six) and Yves Lazaro (five), the pint-sized playmaker who earned Most Valuable Player honors.
In the 13-and-under Elementary Boys division, unblemished Jubilee Christian Academy got off to a slow start, trailing by as much as six points (18-12) late in the first eight-minute quarter, before exploding with a 10-0 blast bridging the first and second periods for a 39-27 halftime lead en route to a smashing 73-44 victory over Angelicum College JCA, which posted an 8-0 mark in the 2.5-month tournament, shot an amazing 63 percent from the field, mostly completed on fastbreaking, unmolested layups.
The team was bannered by Barraza, who chalked up a game-high 29 points on 14-of-17 shooting and handed out five assists. Burly C. Lim came up with an 18-point, 6-rebound, 7-assist performance to snare the MVP hardware.
Espeña topscored for the Baby Roebucks with 25 points, including 21 in the first half that was built around four triples in five attempts.
Angelicum College exacted revenge of some sorts when its girls high school team registered a fifth consecutive championship with an effortless 68-37 rout of error-prone Community of Learners Foundation in the finals.
It was a stroll in the park for the Lady Roebucks, who won all of their seven assignments, as they banked on the multi-dimensional brilliance of Charmaine Torres, the back-to-back MVP awardee who had 19 points, six boards, four assists and a pair of steals in 28 minutes; Winona Guallar, who knocked in 15 markers along with five reebies and three dimes; and Angelica Tajan, who contributed 14 scores and five rebounds.
COLF, which earlier was smothered by AC, 90-28, in preliminary play, only had three players scoring. Gene Amar had 20 points and six rebounds and gangling Denise Morelos totaled 15 points, 24 rebounds and six blocks.
The duo played the entire 40 minutes but combined for 23 of the team’s 38 turnovers with Amar wasting 13 offensive opportunities. Morelos, a long-haired 5-11 center, is the daughter of former professional player Mar Morelos and reportedly is headed for Ateneo in college.
In the Boys High School Developmental division, King’s Montessori School defeated Mother of Perpetual Help School, 79-74, for the title. Jherald Aloba and Julian Bautista shared topscoring honors with 13 points apiece for KMS. Albeth Camay was limited to eight markers due to an injury but earned the MVP award for his season-long brilliance with the winners.
St. Vincent School went 8-0 in the tournament in beating Immaculate Conception Cathedral School, 83-78, during the finals of the Boys High School Competitive division.
After a 15-all deadlock at the end of the first 10-minute period, SVS swiftly took command and never trailed thereafter even if it had to diffuse a pair of endgame rallies by ICCS to scramble for the five-point victory.
Five men hit double digits for St. Vincent School, whose most famous product is former De La Salle and Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) veteran Junjun Cabatu.
These are MVP honoree F. Antonio, 15 points and eight rebounds; Mark Panizal, 14 points, 10 boards and four assists; Rjay Perez, 14 points; Elijah Serrano, 13 markers and three assists; and John Dimson, 10 points.