JIXI City, Heilongjiang. — The Philippines, represented by the University of the East, clobbered Jilin Northeast Tigers 104-77 for a winning start in the 37th Promotion Cup international invitational basketball tournament at the Jixi Convention and Exhibition Center here late Tuesday.
Handled by former PBA coach Chris Gavina and team manager JezlanAlabanza, the Red Warriors took control with an early 33-15 lead in the first quarter and never looked back on the way to a lopsided victory in the four-nation, eight-team tournament being held in this beautiful city located in the southeastern Heilongjiang Province.
The Warriors, whose participation in this prestigious tournament is arranged by Armstrong Philippines and supported by Tanduay Athletics and the UE community, led 55-40 at the half and 87-65 after three quarters.
John Abate, a 6-3 find from Orange Park High School in the United States, led the Red Warriors with 20 points. Three other players put up double-digit scores for UE, with Drew Jimenez adding 13 points; Mark Joseph Cabero contributing 12 points; and Mariano Tañedo chipping in 11 points.
UE also got nine points each from Ronjie Go and Nico Mulingtapang, eight points from KristoperLagat, seven points from Drayton Caoile, six points from NurjaddenDatumalim, and three points each from Reynaldo Malaga, Jack Cruz-Dumont and Dyland Benedict Despi.
“I feel like our journey here is already well worth it after only our first game. I’m really happy that we played really well considering several hours of travel. We really took the opportunity to showcase our skills and preparation for this great tournament,” said Gavina, who was appointed as head coach of the team only last February.
“We’re very thankful to the (organizing) committee for welcoming us here in this beautiful city,” added Gavina, who is hoping to use the week-long international tournament to fine-tune the team before the formal start of the UAAP season next month.
