Uno, Aegis People Support head 1st day winners in Baguio Day Cup

UNO basketball team and Aegis People Support came with huge victories to open their title hunt in the second year of the Baguio Cup basketball tournament at the Easter College gym, Sunday morning.

Right after the simple yet festive opening program, Uno immediately went to work as it edged Titans in bracket A action with Mike Rojo topping the ball game with 28 points including eight rebounds, two steals and an assist for a 101-87 Uno victory.

Uno earlier enjoyed a 44-35 halftime lead before pushing on with their razor sharp offense in the second half to win their first game in the tournament backed by telecom giant Globe.

In bracket B actions, Aegis People Support lead by Eric Garcia's 25 points also scored their first victory by upending Braveheart/Generika, 118-97, while Codalian stopped Hotel Elizabeth, 83-79, in bracket C with When Pascual's game high 27 points and 12 rebounds.

UB85ers escaped Norman Trading in bracket D, 85-81, with Rene Laguitan firing 22 points which led all the way from the opening buzzer which pushed them to 45-37 at halftime.

Dad's Place, meanwhile, downed Goshenland, 85-76, in bracket E with Edu Veneracion scoring 18 points, six rebounds and three steals despite trailing in the halftime, 29-34.

Also in bracket E, Dagsian United edged Lopez Building, 77-71, led by William Channas' 22 points and 16 rebounds while Rianella barely escaped GWE in bracket C, 74-73, with Francis Collado leading the charges on his 19 point output and 9 rebounds.

The tournament will be a round-robin format where the top four teams in each bracket will play for the cross over semifinals with the top two teams enjoying a twice to beat advantage.

Cash prizes, aside from the championship and division trophies, await the champs.

Individual awards will also be given to top performing players in the tournament, including a mythical five, a season and finals most valuable player for each bracket.

Organizers said the tournament hopes to be an effective vehicle to promote peace and order and at the same time a healthy lifestyle for members of the community, not only in Baguio City but also Benguet. (Roderick Osis)

Published in the Sun.Star Baguio newspaper on August 09, 2011.