Tay Tung out-maneuvers St. Robert’s to clinch NBTC Regional title

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Bacolod Tay Tung High School squad pulled-off the much-needed adjustments to prevail over the tough St. Robert’s International Academy from Iloilo, 89-77, to grab the NBTC Western Visayas finals leg.

Gwyn Miles Pendon and the Panda Rockets torched Tay Tung early on, jumping to a 22-8 first quarter lead that put the boys from Bacolod in a deep hole.

Aiming to put up a valiant fight, Tay Tung head coach decided to mix things up, dumping the ball to Heinz Demisana, who positioned himself in the middle of the paint and patiently waited for the double team to make the extra pass.

The execution paid off well for Tay Tung who converted numerous times with the same play, trimming the deficit to just 2 before the second half started, 42-44.

As the second half started, the coach John Guanco led team suddenly suffered a scoring drought, unable to connect on their field goal attempts.

The Tay Tung Thunderbolts then began to roll, sinking numerous treys and difficult slashes underneath to put pressure on the Panda Rockets.

Matt Atanas of St. Robert’s tried to impose his will at the paint but Demisana and the rest of the gang showed tremendous defense underneath to contest Atanas’ attempts.

Tay Tung then began to take full control of the game in the clutch minutes of the game, sealing the victory to represent Region VI in the NBTC national qualifiers in Manila.

The event is presented to you by SM, Chooks to Go, Darlington Exped, Phoenix, Go for Gold, Smart, Vivo, Molten, ESPN 5, and Cignal.