Miguel Jison scored 13 points while Ralph Penuela and young gun Hermosura delivered six points each as St. John’s Institute boys from Bacolod City beat Baguio All-Stars, 48-33, to remain in contention for the crown in the Powerade Batang PBA National Championship yesterday at the San Juan Gym in Manila.

Assistant coach Rey Pandoro cited the trio of Jison, Penuela and Hermosura for orchestrating the win which made up for Tuesday’s blowout loss against powerhouse Batang Talk ‘N Text-Quezon City Selection.

Known as the Burlington Batang PBA Bacolod, the SJI boys will face Cagayan de Oro today. A win against the champion from the Mindanao region will give the Johnians a chance to get into the championship round tomorrow.

The win dealt the SJI team a 1-1 card, similar with that of Baguio, the latter benefiting from Cagayan de Oro’s forfeiture of its Tuesday’s win due to question on players’ eligibility.

The Burlington Batang PBA-Cagayan squad suffered another setback yesterday as they became Batang TNT-Quezon City’s second victim in the tournament.

Proming young basketeer Michael Nieto led the surge against Cagayan with 16 points while teammates Jolo Mendoza and Dale Aldrich Dy hit 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Also in the lineup of the Manila champs are the sons of PBA players Danny Ildefonso and Olsen Racela. The team goes up for the first seat in the championship when it tackles Baguio today.

The top two squads in the four-team cast after the round robin finals will contest the crown at the Araneta Coliseum tomorrow.*NAB

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