Seniors, Freshmen-Sophomores rule basketball, volleyball tournaments
The Asian School of Hospitality Arts (ASHA) held its Sports Fest last March 4 at the Marikina Sports Center with the ASHA Antipolo Seniors and Freshmen-Sophomore basketball and volleyball teams capturing the basketball and volleyball titles, respectively.
During the elimination rounds, the ASHA Antipolo Seniors showed their grit early on to get into the finals in convincing fashion despite almost blowing a 16-point lead late in the third quarter. But despite taking the lead, 42-41 early in the fourth canto, ASHA Quezon City failed to capitalize on their scoring surge and hold on to the lead to lose a heart break of a ball game to the former, 49-44.
Eventual Most Valuable Player awardee Kristoffer Bernardo, after almost going scoreless for five minutes, finally came through with crucial baskets to seal the win.
In the championship match, Aldus Enriquez, Sherwin Mago, and Arwin Torres failed to contain the Seniors’ juggernaut as the combined Freshmen-Sophomore squad fell by as much as 17 points in the early goings of the game despite holding their ground on the defensive end.
“The team lost because they cannot convert their free throws and they took so many three point shots and missed a lot of those even if they are open,” Rizal Technological University (RTU) Lady Thunders and former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) D-League player Julian “Goy” Bagares said. “The Seniors, especially Bernardo, had the advantage because they were tougher in defense and were able to shoot the crucial baskets as well,” he added.
Bagares was the event’s special guest and also oversaw the games’ proceedings.
The Freshmen-Sophomores came within four in the final minute of the fourth quarter but crucial misses and turnovers sealed their doom as the Bernardo-led Seniors’ squad captured the basketball crown by riding high on their sizzling drives and defensive stops to rule the ASHA cage fest, 62-56, one last time before graduation at the delight of the jubilant seniors’ crowd.
Arwin Torres, Jamir De Guzman, Abner Philippe Cayabyab, Mago, and Bernardo completed the Mythical Five awardees.
Meanwhile, in the volleyball scene, the Freshmen-Sophomore quintet got back at the Seniors squad to put the sets under the rug in clean fashion to capture the title in just two sets.
The hard-hitting and spike-oriented Freshmen-Sophomore team asserted their supremacy over the aggressive but very careful Senior netters, 25-18 and 25-19 to show that they can take the heat despite a superb display of offensive skills from the latter.
Despite the blistering heat of the sun and before a sizable ASHA crowd from both sides, Enriquez took control of the game with his devastating wallops and deadly spike to throttle the Seniors with a volley of kills to end the match with his team on top. Enriquez was named the volleyball MVP and exact his own revenge on the Seniors through the mixed tourney.
Enriquez, Aizha Badjao, Aezel Garcia, Blake Marques, and Marc Cequeña were named members of the Mythical Team.
The event was a project of the Student Affairs Office headed by Janet Gasis, the Student Affairs Manager, and was participated in by students from ASHA Antipolo and Quezon City.