Digos beats Davao in DAVRAA secondary men's basketball
Source: MindaNews
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 06 April) - The Digos City Trekkers prevailed against Davao City Durians in the secondary men's basketball gold medal match, 72-69, of the Davao Region Athletic Association (DAVRAA) meet at the Holy Cross of Davao College here, Saturday morning.
The Trekkers kept their composure in their rematch against the crowd-favorite Durians, taking advantage of their opponents' sorry misses in the clutch.
Digos' John Wayne Portrias sank a timely lay-up with 42.5 seconds to go to seal the victory.
Off from their final timeout, and with 11.8 seconds remaining, the Durians went to the wide open Edric Niño Villasor for a triple, but he missed what could have been an equalizer.
The miss sent Digos supporters rejoicing, as their team has booked a ticket to the 2024 Palarong Pambansa in Cebu City on July 9 to 17.
This is the first time for the schools division of Digos, represented by Cor Jesu College-Senior High School Department, to win the DAVRAA secondary mens' basketball gold medal match.
"It was always Digos and Davao City who competed in finals. Now it's our time," Trekkers coach Rey Romulo Senarillos said.
"Salamat kay ko na nahatag sa amoa ang daog, kay Davao City ra jud na pirmi ang madaog... credits pod sa mga bata, gibuhat nila ang among mga gameplan (I'm grateful that we got this win, because it's always Davao City who always won these finals games...credits to my players, they followed our game plan)," Senarillos added.
CJ Visaya led the scoring for Digos with 15 points, while Marck Nine Retes had 11.
Senarillos said they made crucial in-game adjustments, such as letting Visaya do isolation plays whenever the scores were tied, especially in the last minutes of the game.
"That's our game plan. We closely scouted Davao City, I see that they are more of a man-to-man team... thus, we had a game plan to make some isolation plays which we delivered," the winning coach said in Cebuano.
Digos opened the game with a 17-6 rally, but Davao responded with three-point plays to end the first quarter with a 12-1 run.
Since then, it was a neck-and-neck battle all along, with both teams trying to outscore each other through consistently driving to the basket and initiating fastbreak opportunities.
For the Durians, coach Prince Macavinta said: "It was a nice game, we had a lot of turnovers, but it's part of the game. I am proud of my team, job well done."
Durians comprised students from Rizal Memorial Colleges-Senior High School Department.
Meanwhile, for the bronze medal game, Davao del Norte mounted a come-from-behind win against Tagum City, 92-82.
As of April 6 at 12:00 P.M., the Davao City delegation led the regional meet's medal tally with 137 gold, 100 silver, and 96 bronze; followed by Tagum City with 51 gold, 50 silver, and 39 bronze.
Davao del Norte was a close third with 50 gold, 41 silver, and 69 bronze; Panabo City at fourth place with 21 gold, 28 silver, and 35 bronze; followed by the divisions of Digos City, Mati City, Davao de Oro, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental, Island Garden City of Samal, and Davao Oriental.
The annual regional sports meet will have its closing ceremonies on Sunday at University of the Philippines - Mindanao Campus in Mintal, Davao City. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)