National University and La Salle-Greenhills forged a winner-take-all match for the 7th Philippine Secondary Schools Basketball Championship ‘Rain or Shine Cup’ by downing their respective semis rivals on Wednesday at the SGS gym in Quezon City.
The NU Bullpups, who topped the first-round elims of the UAAP with a 7-1 record, rode on a 30-point explosion in the second quarter to dethrone the San Beda Red Cubs, 89-78, and advance to the final of the event dubbed as “Battle of Champions” for the first time.
The Greenies, whose bid for back-to-back championships in the NCAA was denied by Malayan University (Mapua) recently, also earned their first finals’ appearance following a 72-66 win over the Far Eastern University Baby Tamaraws.
“It’s UAAP versus NCAA, so I’m sure it’s going to be an exciting finale,” said league chairman Terry Que of Rain or Shine. “No wonder NU is doing well in the UAAP, while La Salle has lived up to its status as one of the premier high school teams in the country.”
The champion team, according to league vice chairman Eduard Tio, gets P50,000, while the runner-up receives P30,000 in the event also bankrolled by Poly Gloss, Freego, Dickies Underwear, Hapee Toothepaste, IronCon Builders, MEC Networks, Blackwater Sports, and Che’Lu Bar and Grill.
In denying San Beda a second straight and fourth overall final appearance, NU leaned on the splendid performance of wily guard Cyril Rey Gonzales to frustrate the Red Cubs in their much-awaited showdown.
Toughened by the team’s successful title conquest in the ASEAN School Games last August, Gonzales led all NU scorers with 22 points, aside from posting five boards, three assists and the same number of steals in 30 minutes of action.
Center Karl Kevin Quiambao, the hero in the team’s pulsating 76-75 win over the University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs in the quarters, had 14 points and 19 boards as the Bulldogs took a 53-31 lead at the half.
The Red Cubs made a gallant stand in the third, but Gerry Abadiano, Ernest John Felicilda and Reyland Torres hit clutch baskets early in the fourth to repel their comeback.
Apart from the 18-point performance of Inand Val Fornilos, the Greenies also put on a decent defensive job on FEU’s RJ Abarrientos to pull away for good.
They started their move in the second quarter that saw them outscore the Baby Tamaraws, 27-18, for a 40-32 advantage at the half.