CESAFI: USC Warriors win overtime thriller over UC Webmasters

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The defending champion University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors had to dig deep to come out on top of the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters in overtime, 69-67, Tuesday, August 30 at the New Cebu Coliseum.

Regulation ended with a 62-all tie in what could be the most exciting game so far in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc (CESAFI) basketball tournament.

The loss was truly heartbreaking for the Webmasters who could have benefited from a travelling violation which was missed by the referees. With UC closing in at 67-69 on a basket from John Calvin Jabello and with 31.3 seconds left in the 5-minute extension, USC’s Giovannie Laguyo received a pass from Ian Jefferson Tagapan then committed the travelling violation right in the middle of the court as he passed the ball towards the paint.

UC had a big chance of defeating the defending champion as USC was missing their import, Scothy Ntumba, and another big man in Dolan Adlawan.

The Webmasters were also missing one of their key players in Mark Olmilla, who is currently confined at the St Vincent General Hospital for a head fracture he incurred in a collision with teammate Filvenson Culango during their game against the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras, last Saturday, August 27. As of the moment, Olmilla is being ruled to be out for the rest of the season.

Conrad Catapusan was named Best Player with his double-double performance of 11 points and 12 rebounds. However, it was Kevin Oleodo who topscored for the Warriors with his 15 points, 9 of them he earned from the 3-point area. Lucky Ecarma chipped in 12 points.

Garciano Puerto was having his best game so far with 16 points and 17 rebounds, however, it was all for naught as the UC Webmasters dropped to the fourth spot with a 2-4 win-loss slate. The USC Warriors, on the other hand  takes solo third spot with its 3-3 slate.

The game started out on an exciting note with neither teams being able to pull away from each other and eventually ending the first quarter in a 17-all deadlock.

The second canto saw the Warriors pulling away to a 9-point lead but Gileant Delator towed the Webmasters closer at just 6 points behind, 32-38, at the end of the first half.

The Warriors further saw their lead dwindling to just a point behind a jumper from Puerto with more than 5 minutes left.

The game then deadlocked at 55- and 56-all before both teams  exchange leads. A 3-point play by Justine Dacalos put UC ahead at 60-58 but a trey from Ecarma with only 25 seconds left kept the USC in the ballgame.

Catapusan then had a chance to close out the game in their favor, however, he missed one of his two gift shots, thus allowing the extension.

USC head coach Romel Rasmo was perhaps the happiest person at the New Cebu Coliseum as his junior wards, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles, also won their game. The Magis Eagles took the solo leadership in the High School contest with another blowout win, this time against the Cebu Eastern College (CEC) Dragons, 88-41.

Scores

College

USC Warriors (69) – Oleodo 15, Catapusan 11, Ecarma 12, Laguyo 8, Tagapan 8, Langres 6, Divinagracia 4, Tan 4, Rabat 1.

UC Webmasters (67) – Puerto 16, Tagudin 12, Culango 9, Jabello 8, Dacalos 7, Mayol 3, Delator 6, Bautista 2, Codilla 2, Suelto 2 .

High School

SHS-AdC Magis Eagles ( 88) – Velasco 13, Visser 10, Javelosa 9, Mantua 9, Manaytay 8, J. Yu 7, Cutamora 6, Pastor 6, Tuadles 6, Nacua 5, Colonia 4, Calumpang 3, Lapina 2.

CEC Dragons (41) – Tempra 17, Manlapat 9, Canoy 5, Baruc 3, Guillemer 3, Casio 2, Gabutero 2.

Games September 1 

5:15 pm – USPF vs SWU (HS)

6:45 pm – UV vs SWU (College) – Rappler.com