Veejay Pre marked his 20th birthday with a resounding victory.
With him and the rest of University of the Philippines’ “residency boys” leading the charge, Guang Ming College inched closer to the crossover semifinals of the 2025 BLIA Cup University Basketball Invitational after a dominant 88–61 rout of the Victoria Select Team on Thursday at the Fongshan Sports Arena in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.
The Flying Dragons wrapped up the group stage with a 2–1 record.
A win by Hou Chon over National Taiwan Normal University later in the day would formalize GMC’s entry into the next round.
GMC holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over NTNU, thanks to their 96–88 victory on opening day.
Pre starred on his special day, pouring in 17 points on an ultra-efficient 8-of-10 shooting clip, alongside five rebounds and four steals.
Rainer Maga spearheaded the offense with 25 points built on four three-pointers, while Russell Ogana chipped in 11 points.
The trio ignited a huge third-quarter surge, breaking the game wide open as a 46–36 advantage ballooned into a 67–47 cushion. Pre contributed six points during the pivotal stretch.
It was the perfect bounce-back win for the Flying Dragons, who fell short against Hou Chon the night before, 73–68.
In that game, Pre and James Payosing led GMC with 10 points apiece.
Pre and the rest of the Flying Dragons will find out their quarterfinal opponent on Friday.
