By ADRIAN STEWART CO

STI-West Negros University (WNU) Mustangs barged to the finals of the 1st United Basketball League (UNBL) Aspirants Basketball Cup 2023 with an 81-74 win over St. John’s Institute (SJI) Falcons in the do-or-die semis on Thursday night, March 2.

The Jack Tumayan-mentored Mustangs bucked the homecourt advantage of the Falcons at the SJI Ayala Gym (Luis T. Ong Sports Pavilion) in Bacolod City to reach the one-game championship match.

The Mustangs made their presence felt early behind Ed Christein Marinduque and transferees Jovel Thomas Gonzales and Kyle Matthew Barrieta as they immediately pulled away from the Falcons.

SJI attempted to come close in the second half, but only managed to trim the deficit to as low as seven points with STI-WNU coming up with timely conversions to preserve the win.

The Mustangs, which finished the elimination round with an unbeaten record, were forced to a do-or-die game by the Falcons after the latter scored a lopsided 82-65 victory in Game 1 last Sunday, February 26.

The Mustangs will now face Bacolod Tay Tung High School Thunderbolts in a one-game championship match slated at the Bacolod Tay Tung High School Gym on Saturday, March 4 at 6:00 p.m.

The Yong Despi-mentored Thunderbolts are currently undefeated in their nine matches so far in the tournament, including an 81-41 victory over University of St. La Salle in the semifinals.

The UNBL Aspirants Cup serves as a follow up to the Chairmans Cup 17-under and 21-under tournament held last August 2022, and the open tournament last December 2022, according to UNBL President Jun Ballesteros.

“The main purpose of this tournament is to provide an avenue for all Bacolod-based schools and teams to directly compete with each other in a single tournament,” Ballesteros said.

“This is in line with the UNBL’s advocacy of grassroots development wherein the tournament seeks to promote the continuous exposure of student-athletes in the sport of basketball,” he added./ASC, WDJ