CBA Jaguars, CED Titans, CE Knights, and CISTM Pythons secure spots in final four after thrilling quarterfinal

The two-day PLM Intramurals quarterfinals reached a fever pitch when four colleges intensified their pursuit of the championship and sealed their way into the semifinals during the men’s basketball face-off, held at Rajah Sulayman Gymnasium last October 28 and 29.

When the final buzz rang, only four teams—College of Business Administration Jaguars, College of Education Titans, College of Engineering Knights, and College of Information Systems and Technology Management Pythons—were the ones left standing, out of the 11 colleges running after the title.

CBA Jaguars, led by Nikolai Caesario, opened the gates to the semis on the first day when they took the CTHM Aurums in a fierce game of chase.

The Aurums trimmed a third-quarter 11-point lead (64–53) down to six in the early minutes of fourth quarter, but the Jaguars responded with a scoring surge that left no room for a comeback, closing the match at 90–73.

Despite the late time for the second match, the crowd remained electrified with energy as the CED Titans capitalized on a shaky start from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Ravens, who had heroically come back to tie the game at the end of the third (54–54).

But when it mattered most, the Titans clamped down on defense and pulled away, 80–74, with Vince-Ceth Espiritu leading the charge on both ends of the court, contributing a splendid 35 points to the tally.

Day two began with a dominant display from the CE Knights, who widened a small first-quarter lead (11–8) into a massive 78–50 blowout against the College of Accountancy Great Hawks, completely shutting down their offense with a 28-point lead victory.

The Knights’ defense was airtight, and John Benedict Horario lit up the third quarter with two three-pointers that ballooned the lead to 62–33; overall, he handed out 10 points on the scoreboard.

Completing the final four cast, the CISTM Pythons clinched the last spot in the semis, slithering past the College of Architecture and Sustainable Built Environments’ team with a wire-to-wire 63–43 victory.

Dominating the pace and dictating the tempo, the Pythons did not let the CASBE team find their rhythm from start to finish, locking in the last semifinal berth with Mark Jerome Geronimo as the team’s MVP.

The four teams are gearing up for their upcoming game, where they will go head-to-head towards their one goal—the championship title.