Pinoys capture ASEAN title

The Philippines is the 2024 Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) University Games basketball champion. Represented by Mapua University and bannered by John Edward Jabonete and John Christopher Recto, the Philippines brought down Malaysia, 93-64, to capture the title at the Universitas Negeri Surabaya Sports Complex. Mapua-Philippines, which was handled by coach Randy Alcantara, assistant coach Jay-at Carlos and sports director Melchor Posadas Divina, dominant Malaysia from start to finish to the delight of acapacity crowd which included Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). Jabonete, a 6-5 center, scattered a game-high 26 points and 10 rebounds to power the Intramuros-based Cardinals to a well-deserved victory. Recto, a 6-3 forward from Mindoro added 20 points as he joined forces with Jabonete and Clint Salvoro Escamis in leading the Cardinals to 45-33 halftime score. Malaysia never recovered from there. The 5-10 Escamis ginished with 12 points while rookie guard Lawrence Mangubat contributed 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the three-point area in the second half to help frustrate the Malaysians’ rally. “It was a sweet five-game sweep for us. We’re happy to win the title. The boys worked hard and deserved to win the championship,” said Alcantara, who thanked the whole Mapua community for supporting the team’s campaign here. Alcantara also lauded the Filipino community here for supporting the team throughout the tournament. Jeco Bancale, Mark Andrei Igliane,Mark Cyrus Cuenco and Yam Conception provided scoring support for Mapua, which is also being supported by One United Mapua Alumni Association, headed by Allan Abarquez and Benedict Arreola. The other members of the team are Enrico Joaquin Garcia, Aaron Fermin, Sherfrazkhan Abdulla and Christopher Hubilla. Zheng Pan paced Malaysia with 16 points, followed by Kia Wee Brian Tang and Jun Kai John Tang with 11 points each. The Filipinos swept their four games in the elimination, beating Malaysia (93-79), Thailand (97-79), Singapore (101-69) and Indonesia (101-81). Also supporting the Philippine delegation are Philippine Air Lines, LT Group Inc., Healthy Options, Baker’s Fair, Seascape Village, Bestank, Kelley and PAGCOR.
Courtesy of: journalnews.com.ph