ILOILO City – Hua Siong College of Iloilo Red Phoenix leaned on the heroics of Thomas Pillado to beat St. Robert’s International Academy Panda Rockets, 72-71, in the finals of JB ABL Season III ‘School Wars’ high school division at the USA Sambag Gym here.
Down 69-71, Red Phoenix’s Pillado drew a foul from a Panda Rockets player that resulted in two free throws but the Bacolod City-native guard only drilled the first free throw to cut the deficit to 70-71.
From a mad scramble following the second missed free throw, Pillado managed to grab the offensive rebound and scored on a putback at the buzzer to surge the Red Phoenix ahead at 72-71.
Pillado, a former Bacolod Tay Tung High School Thunderbolts standout, finished the match with 21 points to be hailed as the Player of the Game and tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
“Thomas was one of the finest point guards here in Iloilo City right now,” Red Phoenix head coach Vincent Conlu told Panay News on Friday. “No wonder he is drawing interest from some schools in Metro Manila this early.”
“In fact, he played with a sprained ankle in our championship match so that his movements to the basket were limited. Luckily, he was able to convert in the endgame for us,” he added.
On their way to the championship round, the Red Phoenix prevailed over long-time rival Santa Clarita International School Primes, 115-95, while the Panda Rockets edged University of San Agustin Golden Eagles, 78-75, in the other semis game.
Central Philippine University Golden Lions, on the other hand, bagged the JB ABL Season III ‘School Wars’ college varsity category championship after beating USA Golden Eagles in the finals.
Elcyd Pascual stepped up for the Golden Lions in the gold medal game to finish with 22 points for the Player of the Game honors and the Most Valuable Player in the college division.
Heading into the gold medal round, the Golden Lions turned back Iloilo Doctors College Medics, 85-53, while the Golden Eagles scored an 82-69 triumph against Western Institute of Technology./PN
