The University of Batangas (UB) Brahmans got off on the right foot by narrowly defeating Philippine Christian University-Dasmarinas (PCU-Dasmarinas) Dolphins in the opening day of Season 5 of the Universities and Colleges Basketball League (UCBL) last November 10, 2022.
The highly physical match, held at the Paco Arena in Malate, Manila, led to an overtime where the UB Brahmans fought the PCU-Dasmarinas Dolphins to the end. The game ended with the scores 96-90, in favor of the Brahmans.
The game started well for the Brahmans, with the team leading the Dolphins with a 7-point advantage by the end of the second quarter.
However, the Dolphins rallied by the 3rd quarter, with one of their players dealing a blow to a Brahman. Sometime in the 2nd quarter, UB’s Harold de Guzman hit and hurt his head on the court surface after a collision with PCU-Dasmarinas’ Gaiel Escultor.
In the 4th quarter, like De Guzman, UB survived and launched a counter-attack with a combination of fastbreaks and aggressive inside offense, led mainly by Brahman Joseph Yvan Torres. The Brahmans eventually caught up with the Dolphins by the end of the quarter, with each team ending up with 85 points.
The 3-point shooting advantage of PCU-Dasmarinas eventually melted by overtime. UB’s Jan Derick Villarez’s 3-pointer, along with intensified inside-court heroics of Joseph Yvan Torres, Jem Carlos de Ocampo, and Vincent de Ramos, capped the Brahmans’ solid game to beat the Dolphins.
Torres’ leadership in restoring the Brahmans’ momentum eventually earned him the title “Player of the Game” from UCBL.
UB will next face UCBL back-to-back defending champion Diliman College on November 14, 2022.