ILOILO City – St. Robert’s International Academy Panda Rockets repeated as champions of the ILOPRISAA elementary boys basketball after a 62-47 victory over Hua Siong College of Iloilo Red Phoenix on Sunday at the Hua Siong Ledesco Gym here.
Behind the offensive prowess of Mark Santi Coronica, Matt Owen Chua, Johnry James Parcon, and Ethan Toledo, the Panda Rockets outdueled the Red Phoenix to win the championship series at 2-1.
Other members of the John Guanco-mentored team Rafael Arevalo, Niel Catimbang, Travis Sayo, Ace Polines, Shian Will Laña, Tyler Guion, Alex Empleo, and Kristopher Roquillo.
“It is not easy to beat one team twice in a row, especially a team like Hua Siong, but our players obviously gave their best to complete our title defense,” Panda Rockets team manager Eugene Chua said.
“Credit goes to our players for not giving up even if we dropped the first game of this series, we will now prepare well in hopes of repeating as champions in Palarong Pambansa,” he added.
The Panda Rockets went undefeated in the elimination round before prevailing against Angelicum-UST Iloilo in the quarterfinals and Sun Yat Sen High School in semifinals round.
The Panda Rockets tasted their first defeat of the tournament against the Red Phoenix in the series opener on Tuesday, but they bounced back in Game 2 on Saturday to tie the series.
Guion, for his part, also had a highlight in the tournament as they finished with 27 points, including nine three-point conversions, during St. Robert’s victory against Angelicum-UST.
The Panda Rockets will next head to the Integrated Meet, followed by the Regional Meet, for an opportunity to represent Western Visayas in next year’s Palarong Pambansa./PN
