Whiskers edge out Blue Snipers, 98-97

Lightning-fast dashes and a barrage of endless 3-pointers managed to be the saving

grace of the Whiskers of Vasquez National High School who managed to squeeze out a close
victory against the Blue Snipers of Borromeo National High School during the tantalizingly
close third and fourth quarter of the First Mayor’s Cup Championship Game held on October 5,
2017 at Surigao City Gymnasium.

The first quarter was a typical breeze for the Whiskers as they started the game with
their opening salvo of devastating 3-pointers, coupled with the slick reflexes of Peter Paul
Cruz, which made for an easy lead in the quarter. The Blue Snipers employed a head-strong
strategy to score hoops, but it backfired and they made avoidable fouls throughout the
quarter, leading to them lagging behind against the nimble Whiskers.

With the Whiskers punching holes in their defense, the Blue Snipers employed a zone
defense to counter the devastating agility of the Whiskers, which caught the Whiskers off-
guard, and now required them to switch strategies mid-quarter. The Blue Snipers’ Julius
Braganza returned the favor by ramming through their team with slam dunks and an 11 point
lead.

The pressure was on for the Whiskers during the third quarter as they employed a
defensive man-to-man strategy, which did not fully contain the slam dunking frenzy, but lead
to another round of offensive fouls against the Whiskers, and consequential free throws. It
was a tantalizing round resulting in a tie, but also an ankle injury on one of the Whiskers.

The atmosphere was heating up during the fourth quarter, as they were going back and
forth with safe dunks and layups, as the scoreboard piles up with constant hoops. Yet the
winner was becoming less clear with each point. The Blue Snipers were leading in last
seconds of the game, until the Whiskers diverted the Blue Snipers away from Peter Paul Cruz,
who scored a blazing half-court hoop, landing a win for the Whiskers by 1 point.

Peter Paul Cruz of the Whiskers, owing to his incredible skill in clutch situations during
the game has earned his place as Star Player of the Game. Julius Braganza of the Blue Snipers
earned Star Player of the Team, due to his contributions to the extremely close game, and
brutal slam dunks.

The coach of the Whiskers, Elton Jon Miser reportedly said that “We really prepared for
this!”, an enthusiastic remark from such an exhilarating game. Dino Lacio, the coach of the
Blue Snipers remarked “It’s painful. We lost our luck now but we are making up next time!”,
indeed it was a painfully close game. The audience could not contain their screams and chants
for the entire game.

The First Quarter ended with 15-4, with the Whiskers leading, the Second Quarter
ended with 42-53, with the Blue Snipers leading, then the Third Quarter ending in a tie, with
66-66, and the game was concluded in the Fourth Quarter with a 1 point lead by the Whiskers,
98-97.