GAME 1 of the Sta. Lucia Land-NCRAA 25th season best-of-three finals series between Olivarez College and De Ocampo Memorial College proved to be a humdinger as the match had to be decided until the final buzzer.
De Ocampo’s Dahrell Caranguian’s three-pointer from the corner had to be reviewed by game officials before they decided to waive off the shot after they found out that it came a split second too late, allowing the Sea Lions to escape with an 89-86 overtime triumph to take the headstart in the series.
Today, the Sea Lions will have a chance to wrap things up and bag the championship of this event presented by Sta. Lucia Land and supported by Max’s and Bread Talk with LGR serving as the official outfitter.
Jayboy Solis and the rest of the Sea Lions will troop the floor anew and with the hometown cheering crowd behind them, expect Olivarez to leave nothing to chance and frustrate De Ocampo’s championship bid.
“We’ll double our effort and finish it in Game 2,” said Solis, who played an all-around game and finished with MVP numbers of 22 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five blocks.
The Sea Lions dominated Game 1 for most part of the match, leading by as many as 18 points, 65-47, in the third period.
But the Cobras fought back vigorously in the final quarter as Caranguian, Jhonard Clarito and Redel Fabro rallied their team, but fell short.
De Ocampo, which finished runner-up last year to Colegio de San Lorenzo, is now on the brink. The Cobras won the first game of the series last year, before losing the next two games. Head coach Ronnie Dojillo wants to avoid another frustrating season as he tries to gather his troops in keeping their campaign alive.
“Masyado kaming nabaon kasi hindi maganda yung laro namin ng first three quarters. We cannot do that in a championship series,” said Dojillo.