NCR vs. Calabarzon for basketball crown

It’s now down to two teams –defending champion National Capital Region and Calabarzon – for the title in secondary boys’ basketball.

The Big City, represented mostly by San Sebastian College juniors players, scored its seventh straight win enroute to Saturday’s finals via a 106-62 demolition of the Davao Eagles while Calabarzon bounced back following an earlier loss to NCR, 58-79, with its 103-77 trouncing of Northern Mindanao to earn a ticket to the titular match.

It’s an all-Mindanao battle for third place when Davao and Region X clash prior to the NCR-Calabarzon championship encounter.

NCR also prevailed over ARMM, Eastern Visayas, Cagayan Valley, Northern Mindanao aand Central Visayas to earn the semifinal berth against Davao, dominating its rival with a 40-point lead advantage average in its matches.

Calabarzon, on the other hand, registered two losses, the other against Davao in the quarterfinals before earning its championship ticket.

NCR Coach Raymond Valenzona is hopeful his boys will post another blow-out win, saying “since we met in the elimination, I know what to expect”.

Calabarzon mentor Renaldo Baena acknowledges that “NCR is a tough team to but” but he keeps his optimism high, saying: “If the boys have a good night’s sleep, who knows, we may be able to snatch one.”

By: Yussouf Xavier Camins