Corpus Knights dominate
Sweeping both the pasarelle and SBP titles of the Best Center Mindanao Finals in Davao City
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THE long wait is over for coach Carlo Dagalea.
For six years as head coach of Corpus Christi’s basketball program, the 44-year-old Dagalea improved his resume after guiding the Knights to a first ever double-whammy finish in the Mindanao Leg of the Milo-backed Best Center basketball championships on Sunday in Davao City.
In an awesomne display of grit and spunk, the Junior Knights drubbed Davao City’s Holy Cross, 56-46 to bag the Pasarelle division title.
The Baby Knights took a different route as they went through the gauntlet before disposing of Ferndale International School of Zamboanga City in overtime, 48-45 to secure the SBP crown.
Explosive big man Khen Caduyac led the Junior Knights in victory alongside Daniel Harris and Miguel Escalderon who provided intimidation and the much needed rebounds.
The baby Knights, on the other hand, survived a tough endgame pressure and went to the extension period with another stiff challenge when Ferndale posted a 5-point lead with barely 3 minutes remaining.
At this juncture, Dagalea made proper adjustment by employing a ‘2-21’ trapping defense.
The strategy clicked as Jarl Artango and Christian Bustillo combined for three steals that mattered most to bail the baby Knights from the jaws of defeat.
“For years, I have been waiting for my time to shine in the Mindanao finals and I was just praying for one. Winning both titles in pasarelle and SBP divisions is a thing that we did not really expect,” said Dagalea, who acknowledged the big contributions of his coaching staffs in Tristan Pagente and Jonas Mulawan.
Now, Corpus Christi will be gunning for the marbles as its pasarelle and SBP teams will represent Mindanao in the national finals tentatively scheduled this coming November in Pampanga.