Sweet revenge

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

WE, avid followers of basketball games in this province, can attest that the University of Luzon (UL) Golden Tigers is unquestionably the dominant team in the province’s annual PRISAA-UCCAP inter-collegiate basketball tournaments. They recaptured the tiara last Wednesday from defending champion Lyceum Northwestern University (LNU) Dukes, similar to what they did in 2006 after their debacle against the University of Pangasinan Webczars in 2005. Their worst placing in the annual league was last year at third behind champion LNU and only second to first runner-up and the first time-participant Pan Pacific University of Northern Philippines (PUNP) based in Urdaneta City. For reasons I’m not aware of, PUNP did not join the hostilities this year.

From day one up to the last day of this year’s skirmishes (except on August 23 when I was in Singapore), I saw how the league was run and observed that a lot of improvements were made when compared to previous years with the same management composed of PRISAA national co-chairman Atty. Gonzalo T. Duque, league commissioner Angel Gumarang, Pangasinan-Dagupan City PRISAA president Arturo Tangco and UCAAP executive director Seato Gonimil. The league was slightly marred by some inept referees as I have previously written here. “Nobody is perfect” as the saying goes. And that problem was resolved in the last two games in the finals, which were seamless and the battles turned out to be very successful.

It was an uphill climb for the Golden Tigers for the championship. They were beaten twice in-a-row by the Dukes before the best-of-three series finals. First during the elimination round, 77-73, that lasted in overtime and in the quarterfinals, 73-68.

The Dukes beat them anew in the first game of the finals, 71-61. After their third consecutive fall, many were already predicting another diadem for the Dukes. But commissioner Gumarang was quick to counter saying that the game was not yet over. He said that if the Golden Tigers win the second game, it will be ‘all the way’ for them to recapture the title. He respects Vidal’s coaching and the management of Dagupan City councilor Chito Samson.

And Gumarang, former head coach of UPang that made the institution champ in 2005, was right! He’s an expert in this ball game.

It was really a sweet revenge for the ‘never say die’ boys of the father-and-son Vidals.

Surprisingly, it was Golden Tigers’ rookie player Joshua Gutierrez who helped stamp the Dukes, scoring a career high 29 points that stunned the more than three thousand spectators, including me.

According to Vidal, the 20 year-old Gutierrez of Poblacion Oeste in Dagupan was his ‘surprise package.’ He also said his team will be intact next year and are ready to represent Dagupan City in the coming Region 1 PRISAA Meet scheduled in Laoag City on October 26-30.

Vidal, fondly called Jack or Jackal by his friends, said the title he bagged last Wednesday was his 10th in life after 14 years of coaching.

Congrats and mabuhay kayong lahat na taga UL!

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