By ADRIAN STEWART CO

St. John’s Institute (SJI) emerged as champion of the 18-and-Under Online Basketball Sinulog League after sweeping its games in the four-day tournament held at the Cebu Eastern College Gym in Cebu City.

SJI set the tone early with a 61-38 rout of Jump Stop of Surigao, and followed it with a 78-65 victory over Davao.

The team kept its momentum with a 54-44 win against host Cebu Eastern College before overpowering Ormoc, 70-40, to reach the championship round.

Ormoc again stood in SJI’s way in the finals, but the squad showed greater composure down the stretch to pull off a 64-57 win and secure the league crown.

Ryton Celis was named tournament Most Valuable Player after anchoring SJI on both ends of the floor.

He also made the Mythical 5 along with teammate Andrew Hucalinas, who was another key contributor in the title run.

The SJI 18-U lineup was made up of Nathaniel Fajardo, Celis, Rafael Rondez, Will Anthony Jover Sy, Rhett Tabanao, Antonio del Oeste, Hucalinas, Jose Miguel Jover Sy, Irish Navarro, Marshall Navales, Marcus Navales, Kyle Salgado, Sam Mikhail Sardua, and Roland Oñate.

The team was coached by Troy Sarabia, assisted by Ronnie Panaguiton and Kidong Soliza.

SJI also competed in the 12-and-under division, where it posted a 2-2 record and narrowly missed a finals berth.

The 12-U squad featured Joachim Gozar, Matt Sofia, Santi Garcia, Miguel Padilla, Mason Chua, Clyde Sia, Nicholas Abong, Arryl Gono, Ash Bachoco, Dale Escarilla, Matteo Tan, Liam Delina, and Jack Chan.

The results reflected the school’s continued focus on building a strong grassroots basketball program across age levels./ASC, WDJ