Nothing can stop destiny.
After a decade of agony, the crown is finally back to IBJ.
The IBJ Archers displayed a stellar last minute run to escape Centro 3 Avengers, 68-64 to reclaim their title after 10 years in the Dandex 2023 Interbarangay Basketball Cup held at Natalged Park Lasam, Cagayan, last night.
Coming from a slow start, the Archers slowly regained their momentum in the start of the last quarter until they snatched the lead in the dying seconds of the fourth and took care of it to secure the win.
It was all Avengers in the first quarter as their main guys Jandy Bulusan and Jordan Gazzingan provided the hot start for them to have an 8-point lead for C-3, 23-15.
However, the Archers trimmed down the deficit through the effort of their combo guards Kevinson Ilac and Elmar Dumlao with their fastbreak attacks and find themselves down by just four by halftime, 31-35.
Both teams traded baskets in the third until Archers' sniper Ashley Simon connected two back-to-back triples and Patrick Ilac's deadly jump shots and finally taste their first lead, 46-44 with a minute left in quarter.
However, the lead they enjoyed was cut short as Bulusan came back with a corner three to regain the lead, 50-49 going to the fourth.
Going into the fourth canto, the C-3 cagers sparked a run as Jerick Esparas came out strong by controlling the boards while their center Kevin Agluba provided the muscle in the paint to carve out a slight 58-54 lead.
With just three minutes left, Avenger center George Ramirez also connected a short left corner jumper to make his team enjoy a slim 60-56 cushion.
Struggling to find their offense going, Jhoncee Lumelay stepped into his rhythm to calmly ignite a 5-0 run of his own with a trey and a crucial putback to erase the Avengers' lead as the Archers go up 66-62.
With a minute remaining, Ilac delivered the biggest shot of the game with his favorite stepback jumper and stab the dagger to the hearts of Avengers as the Archers closed out with a 68-64 W.
It will be the Archers second title since 2013 wherein they won over Calapangan Sur.
For the Avengers, it was their third straight trip to the finals but once again came up short to bring home the elusive title.
Reporting by Norielle D. Pastor
Photos by John Gilbert Evia Garcia