IN A DISPLAY of togetherness among Thomasians from different sectors of the UST community, the second annual Community Friendship Basketball tournament was held from November 17 to February 23 at the UST Gym.
The tournament was graced by league pioneers Saturday Club and Thursday Club alongside teams composed of security guards, hospital employees, UST coaches, casual and contractual employees, janitors, faculty, and non-academic employees.
The championship trophy eventually went to the Thursday Club after narrowly escaping the varsity coaches with a 94-91 victory last February 23.
The coaches held the upper hand, 89-91, after volleyball coach Clarence Esteban hit an under-goal stab with 32 ticks left in the final canto.
In the ensuing play however, Tiger Cubs coach Allan Ascue committed a costly foul on Mythical Five member Julius Caesar Rabino who then split his charities to cut the coaches’ lead, 90-91.
Football mentor Kim Versales could have put the game away for the coaches if not for two bungled attempts at the stripe, paving the way for the dying-second heroics of tournament MVP Richard Martin. Martin drilled in a gutsy jumper from the elbow to reversed the tide in favor of Thursday Club, 92-91, before coach Emilio Reyes’ desperation shot to regain the lead clanged off the backboard with two seconds left in the contest.
Martin, who led Thursday Club with 35 points, then buried a pair of freethrows to ice the game. Reyes topscored for the coaches with 28 markers. Earlier, the Santo Tomas Hospital employees dominated the security guards, 93-87, to finish third.
