Defending champion St. Clare College-Caloocan achieved another milestone by winning its third straight title and fourth in seven years in the National Athletic Association of School, Colleges and Universities (NAASCU) basketball tournament at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
The Saints rode on the troika of Irven Palencia, Junjie Hallare and Mohamed Pare to subdue Enderun College, 82-77, in Game 2 of the scheduled best-of-three title series and capture the championship via a rare 12-game sweep.
St. Clare also defeated Enderun, 81-67, in the opener at the Pasig Sports Center last Wednesday.
Palencia finished with 23 points on 11-of-20 shooting with seven rebounds and seven assists for the Caloocan City-based Saints of NAASCU founding president Dr. Ernesto Jay Adalem and coach Jiniño Manansala.
