Franco Nube 
The competitive spirit of SSU students ignites once more as the University Palaro week continues after the hiatus caused by tropical storm Kristine. Women’s basketball teams from the five colleges of main campus, and the Paranas and Mercedes campuses took on the court to begin their two-day tournament at Samar State University Gymnasium.
Mercedes Campus – Unit 5 showcased mastery of the sport as they dominated their opponent during the first game of women’s basketball, College of Engineering (CoEng’g)-Unit 3, through their on-court chemistry and impenetrable defense, ending the match with a commanding lead, 55-23, attaining a 1-0 standing.
The second match featured a tough battle between the College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CoNHS) – Unit 7 and College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) – Unit 2, with the latter edging out the former team on both ends of the floor, finishing the game with a 20-point lead, 42-22, also attaining a 1-0 standing.
An effortless win for the third game was handed to the College of Industrial Technology (CIT) – Unit 1, as their opponent, College of Education (CoEd) – Unit 4, failed to show up for their match, resulting to a victory by default for the team of Unit 1, putting CIT on a 1-0 standing.
The determination of Mercedes Campus, who are already on their second game of the morning, proved much stronger than the fresh legs of Paranas players, as they faced off for the fourth match of the morning which sent the crowd roaring as they extended the match to overtime.
Mercedes’ 11-to-nothing run during the last minutes of fourth quarter allowed them to extend the nail-biting battle to an extra 5 minutes of regulation, wherein both teams dueled closely until Mercedes edged out Paranas, ending the game with a score of 56-55, improving their standing to 2 dubs and 0 losses.
A well-fought victory was snatched by CIT women’s basketball after their initial default victory in the morning, as they outclassed the relentless defense of CAS during the fifth match of the day 32-25, improving their record to 2 wins and 0 losses, handing CAS their first L.
With the conclusion of five games, Mercedes Campus and the College of Industrial Technology are on top of the standings, both with 2 wins and no losses. The College of Arts and Sciences is at 1-1, and the Colleges of Education, Engineering, Nursing and Health Sciences, as well as the Paranas campus are all standing on 0 wins and 1 loss.
Continuation of the tournament will proceed tomorrow, wherein the winning and losing teams will both be bracketed and matched according to their respective standings, until a champion can be hailed.
