Huminova Tigers rolled past Royal Star Trading, 80-74, in Class A action as the 2012 Fil-Sino All Asian Countertrade 1st Conference Inter-Color Basketball Tournament got underway at Bacolod Tay Tung High School Po Hang Gym.

The Tigers wasted a 12-point lead in the final minutes but managed to recover in time by staging an 8-0 run late in the game to get away with the opening day victory.

Matthew Yap sizzled in the first quarter with 16 points to give Royal a 24-22 lead while the offense of the Tigers was provided by RB Chua and Badong Eufre, who combined for 13 points.

The Tigers turned the table on Royal Star in the second quarter as Danny Boy Uy hit three treys and David Lim scored six points in the lowpost for a 43-35 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Monroe Chua dropped 8 points to give Huminova a double digit lead, but the twin towers combination of Brian Coo and Peter Paul Ortaliz allowed Royal to stay within striking distance at 58-50 going to the four quarter.

Royal continued to ride its momentum with Coo delivering five points and handing out two assists to slowly cut the deficit, but Tigers Bobby Yap and Johnnyson Yu treys provided resistance on the rally.

Matthew Yap's triple tied the game at 64-all and set the tone for Royal to grab the lead at 72-69.

But the Tigers responded with a crippling 8-0 run started by a bank shot from RB Chua and followed up by back-to-back three-pointer from Franklyn Madrid and Bobby Yap for a 77-72 lead.

Roger Montalbo's undergoal stab cut the lead to a single basket, but Badong Eufre converted a free throw to ice the game for the Tigers even as Johnnyson Yu's layup at the buzzer settled the final score.

Bobby Yap finished with 16 points, Monroe Chua added 14, Yu and Uy with 9 points each, Eufre and RB Chua delivered 8 points apiece for the Tigers.

Matthew Yap topscored for Royal with 25 points, Coo and Ortaliz contributed 10 points each and Montalbo finished with 7 points.

Meanwhile, AACI Farms, AACI Trading and AACI Transport are the other teams in Class A while Basecom, Organic Solutions , JSY Transport, JSY Countertrade and JAST Enterprises are the teams in Class B.*with a report from Stephen Tan

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