Left as the lone gatekeeper among the Philippine teams competing in the PSL Global Championship Challenge, the country’s representative in the Born 2004 division salvaged some measure of pride by capturing the title following a hard-earned 94-77 triumph over North America on Sunday at the Filoil-EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Both teams went toe-to-toe in the first 20 minutes, until the Philippines, represented in the under-20 division by the Davao City NTB Wolves, started to pull away when it outscored North America, 27-13, in the third period, to turn a close encounter into a decisive victory.
Eimrod John Rodulfa played yet another solid game for the Philippines as he pumped in 31 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists as the reigning Most Valuable Player in the recent National Finals presided on his team’s offense when needed the most.
Backing up Rodulfa was the solid supporting cast of the Philippines led by Karl Wood, who had a near double-double showing.
A picture of consistency all tournament long, Wood finished with 19 points and eight rebounds while Sefh Albiendo contributed 15 markers.
Utility guy Jimz Aaron Lulab went a rebound away from completing a double-double performance as he wound up with 12 points and nine rebounds for the Philippines, which became the only local squad to bring home a championship in this flagship event presented by the Pilipinas Super League.
It was a perfect campaign for the Philippine under-20 team, which swept all its seven matches, including the championship.
Earlier, North America captured the Born 2008 division crown while Thailand clinched the title in the Born 2006 division.
North America’s 2008 squad went through the proverbial eye of the needle, battling back from 10 points down in the closing stage, then holding off Philippines-Pampanga to just six points in the fourth period to complete a come-from-behind 67-66 win in a thrilling finale.
Enrico Bungar capped his solid performance all game long as he completed a double-double showing of 18 points and 13 rebounds while also coming up with the go-ahead basket as North America, represented by NABA Intercity, clinched the title.
Bungar’s short stab with 54 seconds to go served as the winning basket for North America, which dodged two attempts from Chester Tulabut and Leodyl Hilot.
Jagger Versoza led the way for North America with 23 points, four rebounds and seven assists while Dominic Tuason contributed 12.
Over at the Born 2006 division, Thailand-Traill International School coached by Filipino mentor Troy Umali, ran roughshod over Canada, 120-83, as Jespher Kurihara completed a triple-double performance.
Facing a Canada team that pulled off a huge upset win over top seed Philippines-Cebu in the semifinals on Saturday, Thailand turned to its 1-2 punch in Kurihara and Don Wayde Basadre in dumping its rival.
Kurihara exploded for 38 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 10 assists as he simply saved the best for last.
He hit 10 three-point shots, the most made by any player in the tournament.
Basadre, on the other hand, contributed 35 markers, but capped his big game as well by dishing out 14 assists for another double-double show.
