JOHN Galinato laid the ball in with 0.9 of a second left to lift Chiang Kai Shek (CKSC) to a 62-60 win over Canada Durham Crossover in the first match of the 2016 SM-National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) Championships at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.
The Blue Dragons played catch-up ball for the first 32 minutes as Durham Crossover, a squad composed of Filipino-Canadians, posted leads as much as 11 points. The visitors grabbed a 10-point lead after the end of the third period but Rafaelo Torribio ignited a scorching 15-0 run using a punishing full-court press to take a 49-44 lead.
Durham Crossover retook the lead behind forward James Canlas, forward Robbie Ocampo and center Matthew Daves, 60-57 with 1:07 left to play but off a time-out, Miguel Oczon drained a game-tying triple with 56 seconds left.
The Fil-Canadians had a chance to win it but Canlas threw away the inbound pass that led to Galinato’s heroics.
Canlas, the 17-year old 6’2″ forward, has attracted US National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 schools Oakland University in Michigan (Horizon Conference) and Binghamton University (American East Conference) in New York. Canlas scored a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds to lead Durham Crossover.
“It was disappointing because we were in a position to win the game,” Canlas said. “I don’t want to give any excuses but that team [CKSC] is good. We’ll bounce back.”
Galinato led the Blue Dragons with 19 points.
“We pressed them to start the fourth period,” CKSC Head Coach Goldwyn Monteverde said. “That made the difference for us.”
In the second match, Maryhill College of Lucena crushed Agusan National High School, 59-40.