Francis Rosales and Christian Onde formed a strong one-two punch as Leyte dominated a much taller NCR-Passion Sports, 89-71, at the start of the 2025 Milcu Sports Got Skills Basketball U16 Talent Identification on Monday at the Greenhills West Gym.
The 14-year-old Rosales and 15-year-old Onde caught fire by unleashing 26 points apiece with the former shining on the other end as well with eight rebounds, two assists, and five steals.
Onde had five boards, four steals, and two dimes to help in the lopsided victory as they improved to 1-0 in Group A.
Their brilliance allowed the Visayas representative in stopping a bigger NCR-Passion Sports, which paraded the trio of 6-foot-10 Andwil Yap, 6-foot-7 Sander Maranan, and 6-foot-5 Sacred Toring.
Leyte stepped on the gas early, cruising to a 33-21 lead at the end of the opening frame before NCR-Passion Sports came within nine points after a Toring basket early in the second period.
In the second game, Bukidnon fended off a gallant stand from Cavite as it pulled off a narrow 79-76 escape win to likewise get on the winning column of Group A.
Down 76-70, Cavite leaned on the hot hands of DJ Marasigan, who instigated a personal 6-2 run capped by a pair of free throws in the final 13.3 seconds to trim the gap to just two.
Ending the morning games was a thrilling 69-63 win for NCR-MTJH against the Bulacan Hawks with Andrew Sanchez leading the way with 18 points while Caleb Liwanag chipped in 15.
