Despite losing the Baguio Benguet Educational Athletic League (BBEAL) jewel – men’s basketball – the University of Baguio remains the best so far this year by ruling the first semester of play.
UB fell to the Cordillera Career Development College (CCDC) Admirals, 60-66, last Nov. 2, it’s second straight, but remains on top of the nine school sports competitions with six gold medals to show including sweep of two of the eight events.
The Cardinals won the women’s basketball crown by beating arch-rival University of the Cordilleras (UC).
It swept chess and badminton and took women’s wushu for a total of six first place finishes to edge UC.
UB also won the silver in men’s and women’s archery. It also placed second in both men’s and women’s table tennis and in men’s wushu.
UC, meanwhile, took the gold medals in archery, men’s table tennis, men’s wushu and baseball.
The Jaguars had bridesmaid finishes in table tennis, both to UB, women’s basketball also to UB, women’s wushu and sepak takraw.
It placed third in men’s chess and fourth places in women’s chess and women’s table tennis.
Surprisingly, the Admirals had two gold finishes in the premiere men’s basketball by beating UB, 66-60, in game three of their best of three finals at the UC gym. It is also the team’s fourth basketball crown and second straight. It won the gold in the 2008 and 2009 edition of the BBEAL. It is also the third school to win the crown after perennial champion UB and UC.
The fourth is the third best after UB, which has 26 of the 35 seasons, and five of UC, one when it was still the Baguio Colleges Foundation Shields in 1995.
CCDC has also secured the sepak takraw title, a sport usually dominated by SLU. CCDC has fourth place finishes in women’s basketball and men’s wushu.
The Benguet State University (BSU) has one title in women’s table tennis and finished fourth in the first semester of play.
The Wildcats has second place finishes in men’s chess and baseball, while also securing the bronze medal in sepak takraw, men’s archery and women’s chess. BSU’s men’s badminton team finished in fourth place.
SLU, the third of the Big 3, has a second place finish in women’s chess, third in men’s basketball after beating the Baguio College of Technology, men’s badminton, men’s and women’s badminton.
The Navigators took fourth place in women’s badminton, men’s chess and sepak takraw.
The University of the Philippines – Baguio took third honors in men’s and women’s archery, which it shares with BSU and the Philippine Military Academy, respectively. PMA, on the other hand, had three third place finishes and one fourth place finish.
Baguio College University had one third place finish.
This year is the shortest BBEAL that was played in only two weeks. The same will apply in the second semester with volleyball as its premiere offering.
The BBEAL short season was due to the late pull out of supposed host BCT which only pulled out last August when its treasurer, Ligaya Abad, had been on sick notice.
Sadly, the younger sister of BCT president Willie Abad, died before the games started last November 23. She was given the honors during the opening ceremonies of the BBEAL at PMA.
