Bisaya Tanan bucked a slow start to pull a convincing 46-42 victory over Cailey and lift the Jazzville 3-Day Basketball League Cup at the Jumeira Baccalaureate School in Dubai.

Bisaya Tanan struggled with their offence in the opening minutes and trailed Cailey by five, 16-11, but they came out firing on all cylinders in the second period and scored 12 points while limiting their opponents to just two to take the driver’s seat, 23-18, at the half.

The third quarter was a low-scoring back and forth affair with both teams exchanging leads but Roger Tibudan, who was declared MVP, kept Bisaya Tanan ahead by two, 30-28, going into the final frame.

Bisaya Tanan quickened the pace and really took control of the game in the fourth quarter by playing solid defence and forcing Cailey to commit several errors.

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They erected a seven-point cushion, 43-36, in the final two minutes after Jeremy Ponce converted back-to-back baskets coming from Cailey turnovers.

But Rico Regalado, who led Cailey with 13 points, did not easily give up and kept the game close, 43-40, before Jeric Serdenia scored on an acrobatic shot and Tibudan split his free throws to secure the Cup including the 4,000 dirhams cash prize for Bisaya Tanan.

“We had a slow start but we showed our persistence and strong character to win the Cup,” Bisaya Tanan coach Jake Celocia told Sport360.

“We also struggled several times on the floor but we just believed in each other and trusted each other to come out victorious.”

For his part, Cailey coach Andrei Avila said: “We just didn’t have it – we missed many crucial shots and made numerous errors. We did not make defensive stops and we were less aggressive but will just bounce back in the next tournament we will join.”