ON Wednesday, October 4, the University of Luzon Golden Tigers secured a narrow 79-77 victory over the University of Baguio Cardinals at the University of Baguio Gym in the first game of their Best of Three Championship Series in the inaugural Z-League Inter-College Basketball Tournament.

The game began with the host team taking an early lead of 8-4 and 14-10. However, the Golden Tigers, led by Dr. Chito Samson, gained the upper hand in the closing minutes of the first quarter, leading 28-23, with hotshot Jhomel Sansano leading the way.

In the second quarter, the Cardinals, coached by former PBA player Tony dela Cerna, mounted a rally and managed to tie the game at 36-36. UL responded with fast-break plays to end the half with a 48-42 lead.

UL Golden Tigers repeated against UB in their second game at the Dagupan People’s Astrodome on Friday,  83-79, to capture the 2023 Z-League Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament.

The second half continued with UL, attempting to extend their lead. However, the Cardinals refused to fold and closed the gap  within a point on several occasions, threatening to take the lead.

In the final quarter, Sansano, a top candidate for the Most Valuable Player award, continued his explosive performance by scoring eight  points in one instance to keep UL in the lead. UB, however, continued to fight back but fell just short.

Sansano led all scorers with 33 points, while player number 15 was the top scorer for UB.

The tournament, which featured 10 collegiate teams from Region 1 and the Cordillera Administrative Region, offers a cash prize of ten thousand pesos to the champion team. (Contributed by Manny Gatchalian)

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