SEVENTH heaven for St. Clare College of Caloocan.

St. Clare achieved a rare milestone by winning their seventh straight title — and eighth overall since 2012 — in the National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (NAASCU) men’s basketball tournament.

Led by Finals MVP Ahron Estacio and Rookie of the Year JB Lim, St. Clare outlasted Our Lady of Fatima University, 62-54, in the third and deciding game before another big crowd at the Novadeci Convention Center in Novaliches, Quezon City.

Estacio and Megan Galang scattered 14 points apiece, while Senegalese import Babacar Ndong imposed his will with a game-high 14 rebounds in a highly-anticipated matchup with Fatima big man Mamadou Toure as the Saints finished off the Phoenix, 2-1, in their best-of-three title showdown.

Fatima took the series opener, 80-72, but St. Clare evened the series. 56-55, to send the series into a deciding third game

The rest is basketball history.

“Thy will be done.Thank you Lord God our Saviour for this championship. Para sa inyo po ang game na ito,” said St. Clare coach Jinino Manansala, who was immediately congratulated by St. Clare President Dr. Clarita G. Adalem and NAASCU president Jay Adalem.

“It always feels good to win a title. But winning the title for seven straight years since 2016 is unbelievable. Maraming salamat po sa lahat na nagdasal para sa amin,” added Manansala, who also credited his father, PBA legend Jimmy Manansala, and the St. Clare College community for the team’s success.

St. Clare’s seventh straight NAASCU title from 2016 to 2024 matched the UAAP record of seven consecutive titles of University of the East, led by Robert “Big J’ Jaworski, from 1965 to 1971, and National University Lady Bulldogs from 2014-2022.

Counting its first-ever championship in 2012, St. Clare also surpassed University of Manila with the most number of titles won in the league’s 22 years.

With eight titles, St. Clare has one more title than UM, which bagged seven titles from 2001 to 2005 and 2010 and 2011.

Manansala, who was named as “Coach of the Year”, also achieved a personal milestone by winning his eighth NAASCU crown, now ahead of the late UM coach Loreto “Ato” Tolentino.

Estacio went 5-of-13 shooting and added five rebounds and four assists in almost 27 minutes of action while Galang made 4-of-8 shooting from the three-point territory with five rebounds.

The Saints also got nine points and four steals from Ryan Sual, eight points, 14 rebounds and five assists from Ndong, seven points, six assists and five rebounds from JB Lim and five points each from Charles Burgos and Drick Acosta.

Acosta also had 10 rebounds.

Toure and Charles Tecson led the losing effort of the Valenzuela City-based Phoenix, who took home runner-up honors for the second straight year.

Toure finished with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting and 12 rebounds in 37 minutes while Tecson added 13 points and three rebounds for Phoenix coach Ralph Rivera.

Edward Labayen and Danzel Gomez had eight points each. Labayen also had six assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Ace Rusell Tiamzon contributed with five points and six rebounds while Andrei Romero chipped in four points, three rebounds, and three assists.

It was a close game at the end of the first half, with St. Clare hanging on to a six-point cushion, 29-23.

The Saints then scored four straight points to establish their biggest lead of the game — a 12-point margin — at 47-35 from 43-35 at the end of the third quarter.

The Saints maintained their championship composure and even extended the lead to 15 points, 58-43, on a three-pointer by Galang with 3:41 left.

Gomez’s three-pointer cut the deficit to 12, but Ndong responded with a layup.

The individual awardees are:

Mythical Five — Troy Manipolo (PCU), Mamadou Toure (Fatima), Ace Rusell Tiamzon (Fatima), Babacar Ndong (St. Clare)

Scoring Champion: Ryan Sual (St. Clare); Tapal King: Babacar Ndong (St. Clare); Best in Steals: JB Lim (St. Clare);

King of the Boards : Mamadou Toure (Fatima),

Best in Assists: Edward Labayen (Fatima)

The scores;

SCC (62) — Estacio 14, Galang 14, Sual 9, Ndong 8, Lim 7, Burgos 5, Acosta 5, Desabelle 0 .
OLFU (54) — Toure 14, Tecson 13, Gomez 8, Labayen 8, Tiamzon 5, Romero 4, Loyola 2.
Quarterscores: 7-17, 29-23, 43-35, 62-54.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Robert Andaya