|
By Krista Angela M. Montealegre, Reporter
CEBU CITY: Huaquiao University of China bagged
the 6th Asian University Basketball Championship (AUBC) title after
conquering local bet University of Visayas (UV) 82-76 Saturday night
at the jam-packed Cebu City Coliseum.
Guganeswaran Batumalai saved his best
performance for last, scattering 17 points to carry the Xiamen-based
squad to victory and eventually winning the Most Valuable Player
award.
Batumalai, who had lackluster performances in
their previous matches, stole the limelight from the UV guards as he
converted on drives against the stretched arms of Lancer Gregory
Slaughter.
The Malaysian-Chinese pointguard also knocked
in the crucial basket that extended Huaquiao’s lead to seven,
78-71, with 58.5 seconds left in the game.
Huaquiao, which placed third last year behind
Sangmu Military College of Korea and Rizal Technological University,
also avenged its 67-63 setback to seven-time Cebu Schools Athletic
Foundation Inc. champion UV, which was also the Chinese squad’s
only loss in the tournament.
Yu Xiang, who also played excellent defense
against Slaughter, topscored for Huaquiao with 19 points. Zhang
Jiabin added 17 markers, including five 3-pointers.
The Chinese posted their biggest lead at 68-55,
6:57 remaining in the fourth quarter. But the Green Lancers didn’t
go down without a fight and orchestrated a 16-6 run capped by Harold
Cincoflores’ free throw to cut the deficit to 74-71.
However, Yu nailed a basket in their next
possession and Batumalai delivered the crucial basket to preserve
the UV lead.
Slaughter paced the Green Lancers with 15 points
but the 6’11 Fil-Am, who was the best player in their first
encounter, failed to dominate the paint as he missed several baskets
and committed a lot of turnovers.
Richum Dennison contributed 14 points while
Cincoflores and Chris Diputado added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Southwestern University overcame
a 19-point lead to defeat the visiting Han Yang University of South
Korea, 105-93, to place third in the tournament sponsored by
Burlington, Wilson, Everlast, Summit Mineral Water, Philippine Star
and Fortuna Hotel.
Eric Zanoria came up with the tournament-best 38
points for the Cobras, who made up for their 71-82 loss to the
Koreans.
The Cobras engineered a 24-4 run in to wrest the
lead at 87-84, 3:24 remaining in the fourth quarter.
|
