UNIVERSITY of Perpetual Help System DALTA defied the odds to be crowned as the first-ever Next Generation Basketball League (NGBL) Champions.
The Junior Altas completed a come-from-behind 96-93 victory against National University-Nazareth School during their winner-take-all Finals clash on Saturday at the MGC New Life Christian Academy Gym in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, in a game that was as good as advertised -- with Perpetual capping a magnificent 10-game sweep of the inaugural tournament.
Jericho Cristino’s star shone the brightest in the Ncaa vs. Uaap affair, with the young forward making a name for himself in the most important game of the tourney, which was presented by Uratex, Jollibee, Strong Group Athletics, and in partnership with JETOUR, World Balance, and Molten as the official game ball.
“Napakasaya po namin na nakuha po namin yung gusto namin (We are very happy that we got what we wanted),” said the 19-year-old forward from Leyte who posted 21 points (5/12 3pts) and a steal against the Collins Akowe-led Bullpups frontline en route to being hailed as the NGBL’s first-ever Finals MVP.
“Dahil po ‘to sa pinaghirapan at mga sakripisyo namin, pero ‘di ko naman po inasahan na ako yung magiging Finals MVP. ‘Di ko naman po iniisip yung mga score ko, talagang ginawa ko lang po yung best ko para makatulong sa team (This is the result of our hard work and sacrifices, but I didn’t expect to be named Finals MVP. I wasn’t really focused on my scores, I just gave my best to help the team),” he added of his performance - his best game in the tournament - in the W that allowed them to also bring home the P300,000 cash prize.
Down 69-55 with only 4:39 left in the third quarter following a basket by Sean Solomon, the Las Piñas-based cagers went back to form and retaliated with a 19-to-5 charge after Cristino, JD Pagulayan, Jim Corpuz, and Lebron Jhames Daep, took turns in hitting deuces and triples to eventually tie the game at 74 before the payoff period opened.
Both squads went on to exchange hits in the fourth quarter, with Akowe and Macmac Alfanta doing the most damage for NU-Nazareth, while Cristino was joined by Season MVP Jan Roluna and Icee Calangan to do the heavy lifting for UPHSD, even as the Bullpups regained their composure and put up a gallant last stand in the endgame. PR
