Baguio Central University snapped a losing drought against Saint Louis University, pulling off an 82-78 victory in the Baguio-Benguet Educational Athletic League men’s basketball elimination round at the UC Gym Saturday morning.
The milestone win brought history full circle for BCU head coach Dominique Pomar, also a FIBA referee, who last played for the Eagles and defeated the Navigators decades ago.
Outsized by SLU’s frontcourt, BCU utilized a relentless pace to neutralize the height disparity with their fast-break and aggressive defensive rotations to generate transition opportunities.
“From the start of training, I told them our system will really be run-and-gun. At the same time, we needed help defense and double-teams on their big men inside,” Pomar said in Filipino.
SLU controlled the tempo early, overcoming an initial back-and-forth exchange to take a 23-21 lead at the end of the first quarter following a late 3-pointer by Salvador Aquino
The Navigators controlled the offense in the second period, extending the lead to 43-38 at halftime and maintained a narrow 64-61 edge heading into the fourth quarter.
A triple by Shandy Nicolie Orozco at the 6:15 mark cut the deficit to 74-71, while Rod Vincent Ollado brought BCU within one point shortly after.
Michael John Tamayo then took over, hitting a clutch shot with 3:18 remaining to give the Eagles a 75-74 lead.
After SLU’s Julio Almoite briefly reclaimed the lead, Tamayo answered with consecutive baskets to push BCU ahead 79-76 with 2:03 left.
Vence Nycum closed the gap for SLU to 79-78 at the 1:18 mark, setting up a frantic final minute.
Following missed possessions by both teams, Ollado was fouled and split a pair of free throws with 4.2 seconds remaining to make it 80-78.
Ollado then secured the offensive rebound off his own miss and drew another foul then sank both free throws with 1.5 seconds left to seal the historic 82-78 victory.
Tamayo led BCU with a game-high 23 points while Jezreel Bugayong added 18 points, Ollado scored 17 and Orozco finished with 13.
Aethan Paguio paced SLU with 14 points, while Jion Viduay added 12. Nycum, Aquino and Kazo Theodore Sta Maria each contributed 11 points in the loss.
Following their back – to – back victories where they took down the Benguet State University Wildcats in double overtime, Pomar stressed composure to his current roster.
“Whenever we couldn’t secure the rebound, we just tapped the ball out and ran again. We are small, so speed was the only weapon we could use against them. I know their system; SLU really plays physical. I told them not to get provoked. Just play your game,” he added. Roderick Osis
