LYCEUM'S Kim Cinco reigned supreme in the NCAA Season 96 basketball All-Star Skills Showdown, narrowly escaping Letran's Mark Cruz in a thrilling finals at Victoria Sports Tower in Quezon City.
The former Pirates guard was the first to bury the three-pointer in the gold medal game, finishing the course in 25.25 seconds, a little over than a second better than Cruz's 26.59-second mark.
"Masarap sa pakiramdam kasi si Ant-Man, idol ko talaga. Isang karangalan na makalaban at matalo si Ant-Man," said Cinco, a member of the Lyceum team that completed an 18-0 sweep of the elimination back in 2017.
Cinco earlier trumped San Beda's Radge Tongco in his semifinal pairing, completing the course in 22.61 seconds as he made his second attempt from three.
Cruz, meanwhile, cruised over Arellano's Bimbot Anquilo as he had the luxury of getting his shots up before ending the match at 37.93 seconds.
The special competition featured alumni from nine of the 10 member-schools as they ran through the skills challenge course which tested the players' passing and shooting abilities.
Cinco actually had the best mark in the eliminations, completing the shooting stars course in 27.35 seconds and the dribble and shoot course in 24.19 seconds for a cumulative time of 51.44.
Joining him in the top four are Anquilo (54.22), Cruz (58.06), and Tongco (1:29.14).
Other participants include Kendrix Belgica of St. Benilde, Ian Valdez of San Sebastian, Gerald Dizon of Perpetual, Justin Padua of Jose Rizal University, and Jethro Mendoza of Emilio Aguinaldo College.
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